White Lies
by Dead Chick Walking
Summary: He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically. AU with all characters human in New York. Warnings: language, drugs, alcohol, boy/boy, girl/boy, sexual content. Rating may change.
1. Prologue

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

--W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W--

**Title: **Prologue

**Chapter Rating: **PG

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Well, there is really no way for me to properly summarize this story other than it's seriously twisted. I don't know what to tell you to expect really…

Anyway, the characters from the Underland Chronicles are human in present day New York City. They go to school, have jobs, and everything else like normal people. Although most are anything but. As for warnings, every chapter has some kind of homosexual reference. Have a problem with that? Go read my other stories. This is most definitely my most adult story yet, and my very first romance.

**Beta: **Ares Is Awesome

--W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W--

_It was the day that I moved in here._

_I had gotten a new job that was very promising. Since I was kind of living couch to couch back then, it wasn't really hard to gather all my things up and move so I could be closer to work. I sold my crappy car and moved into the cheapest apartment I could find. The car paid my bills for the first month, although I had to skip some meals._

_The day I moved in was the day I first saw you._

_I wasn't expecting any life changing events that day, and I definitely didn't think I would meet someone that I couldn't live without. Especially after that lady up in the front office. At least, I think it was a woman; it could have just been a really scary looking transvestite. Anyway, while I tried to block out that image I noticed someone on the roof of the apartment building._

_That's you, in case you were wondering._

_You spotted me from your look out, stood up, and waved to me. You shouted something, but I couldn't understand it. I stared blankly at the black and white figure, shook my head, and went to find my apartment. _

_I don't know why you were up there, but I don't know why you do a lot of things. I don't know why you laugh at slasher movies, or refuse to eat anything orange. I don't know why you can never wear a pair of matching socks, or why you lock yourself up for hours and stare at the blank ceiling._

_What I do know is that you--and all of your insane little quirks--have become a fixture in my life. Something I can rely on. Because I know you'll always spend Wednesday on the roof, and you'll always tell me good morning. I know you'll listen to me talk even if you don't understand what I'm saying._

_In my crazy twisted life, where everything seems to be ten times more complicated than it should be, I need something stable. I need something dependable. And while you're not exactly the greatest example of either of these things, I think I've finally figured it out._

_I need you…_


	2. Foot Fetish

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

**--W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W--**

**Title: **Foot Fetish

**Chapter Rating: **PG-11 (I made up a rating, lol)

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference, stalkers and light swearing. I researched apartments in New York and yes they are wicked expensive. Oh, and don't get your hopes up for this story. This chapter has been on my computer for ages. I just felt like I should put it up. I'm looking at one person in particular...through the computer. Plus it's my birthday in...an hour so I'm feeling generous.

**Beta: **Ares Is Awesome was supposed to do it. But she never sent me the finished copy, so this was unedited.

**--W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W--**

The apartment was tiny. Not just small, like most apartments. It was tiny, barely the size of a hotel room. Ares had walked around it twice, and he still couldn't believe that this was what he was paying over eight hundred dollars a month for. There was a living room, with a sink, a counter, and a tiny stove in a corner that was supposed to pass for a kitchen. The single bedroom was next to the living area, it had a large window with a beautiful view of a brick wall. The tiny bathroom couldn't have been bigger than five feet by three. He shrugged; at least it had a shower.

There was a knock on the door, and then it swung open. He turned to see a pretty young woman with black and platinum blonde streaked hair. "Well?" She said expectantly, "Are you going to come down and get your things, or are you going to sleep on the floor?"

"Thanks, Nike," Ares told his friend, for probably the third time that day. She had volunteered to drive him and his belongings to the apartment building. He had even scored a mattress out of the deal.

Between the two of them they got the mattress and two small boxes of clothes and other personal effects up to his new apartment. Both Ares and Nike looked around the tiny eggshell white apartment, neither wanting to do anything that would end in them saying goodbye. Nike and Ares had been good friends for a very long time, despite the fact that Nike was five years younger than him. Seven months ago, when Ares had been almost literally living in the gutters, she had picked him up and brought him back to her house. The young woman had then presented him to her mother like a lost puppy dog, asking "Can I keep him?"

Athena didn't really have a choice in the matter, because shortly after that question Ares had collapsed on their doorstep from dehydration, lack of sleep, stress, and god only knows what else. The two nursed him back to health, and gave him their basement to live in for the moment. Ares had never really been able to thank Nike or her mother, and both women maintained that thanks weren't necessary. In the end it was Nike who broke the silence, which was only to be expected.

"You must be so proud. You have your own apartment now," Nike said with mock pride, and clapped him on the back adding, "and you're only twenty two years old."

Ares scowled at her sarcastic manner, "You can go now."

"I thought you'd be happier! I mean, now you and my mom don't have to worry about me walking in on you--"

"Hey!" Ares exclaimed. Nike laughed at him as he blushed hotly. "You know I didn't do anything with her! She was coming onto me!"

The young woman was in absolute stitches watching her friend protest about the circumstances she had found him in a month ago. It was completely accidental, but the reaction of all three parties involved had been hilarious. "Of course not, no man with a box full of makeup and hair care products is going to be interested in my mother!"

The dark haired man glared at her furiously. She was egging him on and he knew it, but it was working. "Shut up, Nike." He would have said more but was interrupted by a squeal from his friend.

"Oh my god, is this my flat iron?! I've been missing this for ages!" She held up the hair straightener gleefully. Ares snatched it from her and stuffed it back into the box it had come out of. A box that, as Nike had observed, was full of assorted cosmetics.

"It's mine--" He tried to object, but was cut off by another shriek of glee.

"You're gay aren't you!?" Nike exclaimed eagerly. She grinned at him, "You'd make such a cute gay person! All my friends would be jealous."

"Dammit, Nike," Ares growled, "I'm not gay, and I'm not a little toy poodle either. Find someone else to display like a doll." He gave her a shove toward the door, indicating that it was time for her to go.

Nike, however, had other plans. She was staring at him thoughtfully and firmly stood her ground when he tried to usher her out. Puzzled by her odd behavior, Ares let go of her arm. They hadn't really been arguing, the playful fighting had been going on between them for close to a year. Nike's hyper optimistic manner contrasted sharply with her friend's chronic moodiness so they constantly clashed, but both had managed to adjust so that their disagreements never got unfriendly.

"Prove it," Nike challenged.

"Prove what?" he asked, brow furrowing.

"Prove to me, right now, that you are not gay."

Ares scowled, "And how am I supposed to do that? This is ridiculous, Nike, you know I'm not gay."

The girl shook her head stubbornly; her wide hazel eyes gleamed with determination. "Kiss me. Prove you aren't."

"Th-that's ridiculous!" He protested, eyes widening. Why would she ask him to do that anyway? If he was more egotistical he would have assumed that she had a crush on him, but he was certain that she had an ulterior motive. Finally, seeing she wouldn't back down, Ares leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. "Happy, now?"

Nike just smirked and replied, "Yeah, you're definitely gay."

"What the hell, Nike?!" Ares shouted.

"That wasn't a _kiss_ kiss," she pointed out disdainfully.

Ares looked ready to strangle her. "You're seventeen! I'll be arrested for statutory rape!" Nike merely gazed at him, one eyebrow raised. Muttering multiple swear words, he gave in and kissed her. His face was bright red by the time he finished the pointedly long kiss, but he did it and he made sure it was good. "Well?"

His friend smirked impishly, "You're pretty good," she commented, and then bounced happily, "Now Pandora owes me dinner!

He gaped at her in disbelief, "Have you been making bets about me with your friends?!"

"Ummm…" Nike grinned guiltily, "Look at the time! Have fun in your new apartment! Bye!" With this she practically danced out the door, and walked toward the elevator, giggling helplessly.

Ares ran a hand through his hair, glad she was gone, but irritated that she had left him hanging like that. What had the bet been about anyway? His sexual orientation or his ability to kiss? He blinked, her words clicking in his head.

"Pandora bet _against _me?"

**--W..M..W--**

For the next hour Ares unpacked the boxes, dragged the mattress into what passed for a bedroom, and attempted to make the tiny apartment livable. Surveying his handiwork, he decided it looked a bit like a hobo had broken in.

There was a mattress with no sheets, just a blanket and a throw pillow; a pile of clothes next to the bed; a plate, and no silverware; a flashlight; and a box full of hygiene and cosmetic items. He figured the only difference was that a hobo wouldn't have twenty dollar Ulta eyeliner.

"Pathetic," he summarized. Whatever it was, it was his apartment, and he was proud of it. He had a good job and hopefully he would make enough money to fix up the little rat shack that he now called home.

**--W..M..W--**

The next day, Thursday if you want to be picky, found Ares in the laundry room on the bottom floor of the complex. After sitting half-folded in a pile for hours, his clothes had gotten filthy, not to mention wrinkled. Actually, his clothes weren't that bad, but the obsessive compulsive part of him couldn't help imagining all the disgusting things that could be on his clothes from the previous owner of his apartment. So he woke up and immediately subjected his clothes to the dubious clean of the ancient washing machines.

Ares was fidgeting around the lobby, trying to find something to occupy him while his clothes were washing, when he saw her. There was no ominous music, nor clashing of lightening to announce her presence. He barely noticed the slender young woman, merely flicking his eyes toward her as she entered the laundry room.

A few minutes later a loud blaring alarm announced the end of the rinse cycle. Ares hoisted himself out of the chair, where he had been trying to get into a Cosmo Girl magazine, and went to change his clothes into the drier.

When he walked in there was someone at the washer he had been using. Confused, and somewhat alarmed, he hurried over to see the girl loading his clothes into the dryer. Ares stared openmouthed at her for a few moments.

She had unkempt pale blonde hair that was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was tiny, maybe four foot ten, and eighty pounds. When she finished loading the clothes, she patted the drier, turned and gave Ares a small smile, then strode out the door without a second glance.

Completely mystified by the encounter with the diminutive girl, Ares quickly scanned the other washing machines and driers, but there wasn't a thing in one of them. Apparently the only reason that woman had been in the laundry room was to change his laundry. Because that's not weird at all.

"That…" Ares muttered, going back up to his apartment, "was bizarre."

**--W..M..W--**

Half an hour later, Ares figured his clothes were done, or close to it, and opened the door to go fetch them. He swore; there had been something outside his door and he had almost tripped on it.

It turned out to be a hamper full of meticulously folded clothes. His clothes. A sticky note on the top of the pile informed him, in perfect cursive, that he should, "Wash your clothes in cold water. The colors will last longer."

Ares looked up and down the hall. There was a young man coming out of the elevator, Ares immediately discounted him. At the end of the hall, fumbling with her keys, was the tiny girl he had seen in the laundry room. "Hey!"

She immediately turned when he called out to her, her brown eyes wide, giving him a perfect deer in headlights look.

"Um…thanks?" He said uncertainly, and gestured at the hamper. Now that he saw her better he judged her to be around twenty or so, but he could easily add or take five years from that estimate and it would still be plausible. Her slight form could easily pass for thirteen, but her thin face had a distinctly adult look to it. She gave a small squeak, nodded frantically, and then bolted into her apartment. "Okay, she's weird." He swept up his laundry and walked back into his apartment.

Almost immediately there was a quiet knock on his door. Ares growled at the interruption, even though he wasn't doing anything in particular, and answered with a distinctly unfriendly look on his face. His glare was instantly gone when he saw who was at his door.

The tall young man he had noticed by the elevator stood before him. His tousled hair was pure white and fell over the side of his face. The one eye you could see was a deep glittering red. He was young, probably only eighteen, but he was incredibly good-looking.

Ares had told Nike that he wasn't gay, and he had been telling the truth. He liked girls just fine, but he would be lying through his teeth if he said he didn't find some men attractive.

"Hey," The boy said, and shifted uncomfortably. He looked distinctly awkward, like he regretted knocking on the door, "I'm Bane. I live across the hall from you."

"Ares," he supplied with a smile. The older man offered him a hand, but Bane was staring down the hallway and didn't see, or decided to ignore him.

"You were talking to Creepy Stalker Girl," the pale boy stated, still gazing down the hall.

Ares gave him an odd look, "To whom?"

Bane turned back, catching Ares's dark eyes with his own, "Look," he explained, "there are three kinds of people that live in these apartments: serial killers, druggies, and Creepy Stalker Girl."

The dark haired man nodded, and then asked, "So what does she want?"

The other smirked, the first smile Ares had seen, "No one knows. Some people don't think she has a job; others take it further and say she doesn't eat. People see around her every once in a while, but no one has ever gone into her apartment, or even seen the inside. She refuses to talk to people, and she picks one to three victims at a time."

"And what does she do to them?" Ares asked, halfway curious. He was sure that this whole thing was just gossip about the quiet young lady.

"Check your laundry," Bane instructed cryptically. His smirk turned into a grin as he watched Ares rifle through the hamper.

"What the hell?"

"What's wrong?" The pale boy looked almost beside himself with the laughter he was holding in.

"One of my socks is missing."

Bane nodded gleefully, "Stalker Girl strikes again!"

"What does she want with my sock?" Ares asked, a comic look of bewilderment on his face.

"Foot fetish?" Bane supplied before completely breaking down, consumed by mirth.

"Ha," Ares said, completely monotone. "Ha, ha, ha, ha. So…how much evidence do I need to get a restraining order?"

The other man clawed his way into a standing position, and leaned against the door frame. After he got his breath back, he invited himself in by closing the door and leaning against it. "You're lucky, you know," he jabbed an accusing finger at Ares. "She got me worse than you, and it was more than once."

"What'd she do?" Ares scoffed. "Steal your underwear?"

The silence was answer enough. Bane shook his head, and laid a friendly hand on Ares's shoulder. "Do not question the power of the Creepy Stalker Girl. Lock your doors at night, keep your windows bolted, and you might just be alright."

Ares laughed, then asked inquisitively, "You said there were only three kinds of people living here. So, what category do you fit into?"

Bane seemed to consider it for a brief moment, then, without any facial expression at all, stated, "Oh, I'm a serial killer."


	3. Homicidal Doodles

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **Homicidal Doodles

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13 Rated for (homo)sexual reference, mild violence, foul language and annoying school cliques.

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?** It's the next chapter of White Lies that I'm sure no one remembers. Can't promise this will be a regular thing, but I found muse for this hiding under the bed and figured 'why not?' I already have the next chapter halfway finished, so maybe a quick update? …No one knows what the hell this is anymore, do they? I hope the long chapter makes up for the long hiatus. Totally doesn't, but, hey, I can try.

**Beta: **None. Anyone wanna be mah beta?

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

Bartholomew of Sandwich High School, had all the normal qualities of a high school in New York City. There was drug use, gang activity, and overcrowded classes. Drama ran rampant, which could only be expected, and it was regarded as hell by a good part of the student body. This wasn't anything particularly new to any school, however. Bane should know, he had been to most of them. With a slightly vague but distinctly violent record following him, Bane's schools always found some reason to transfer him into a different school. He had been at 'BS,' as it was referred to by the majority of the student body, for a record breaking 6 months, having enrolled a month after the first semester started.

He had been a part of the student body just long enough to gain a reputation. And, more importantly for him, a designated spot where he sat every morning. It was a low concrete wall slightly away from the majority of the students milling around the front of the school, and originally it had been the property of a small group of four. They sat elsewhere now.

It was from this perch that Bane watched the students of his high school interact. There was an intricate hierarchy in place, with social standing as the deciding factor. No matter what group they belonged in, from the elite to the project brats, they all had their morning ritual. Banes ritual was sitting in this exact spot and watching the students put on a show just for him.

There were many categories in which the students placed themselves, and then numerous subcategories that branched off from those. It could be linked to the biological categorization of species. Each species stuck with their own pack, and anyone that dared try to cross the invisible boundaries separating the packs was put into place immediately. Red eyes flickered around the mob of teenagers. They really did move in packs, clustered together with their backs to everyone else. Sometimes people would dart from one group to another. These were the privileged few who had the much envied ability to move between two or three packs.

A sharp squeal brought his attention to a pair of sophomore girls. One, a brunette who had just emerged from her parent's car, was clutching at her blonde friend. The two continued hugging and squealing and jumping up and down for some time. Bane scowled at them both, wishing them death. Why did girls do that? What was the point? Maybe he could have accepted the irritating behavior from two people who had been reunited after years of being apart. He could understand that,. But these girls had done the same thing yesterday morning and the day before that, and practically all the days previous. It wasn't just those two either. Bane had witnessed many of these squealing hugging rituals. Despite this, he had yet to figure out the significance or purpose behind them.

Trying to ignore the obnoxious pair, the pale boy cast his gaze about to another point of interest. This time it was a girl and her boyfriend who hadn't wasted time telling each other hello, but decided to let their tongues greet each other instead. He watched the two for a couple moments, before looking around for other people who had paired off. He was certain that a few had inexplicably wandered to a rather dark corner in between two school buildings or sometimes to a car. It wasn't very difficult to guess their motives for seeking solitude, but Bane still hadn't figured out the appeal of such a thing so early in the morning when all most wanted to do was go back to bed.

After a moment he let his lips curve ever so slightly upward, Bane was a creature of habit and he disliked anything out of the ordinary. A cursory glance assured him that everything was normal so far. Rumors flew, guys postured, girls flirted, and teachers ignored everything around them in favor of focusing on their coffee cups and praying that the day to come wouldn't bring anything strange or unusual. The bell echoed across the grounds, and students slowly milled into the now open building, automatically going to the cafeteria for breakfast or the gym to wait until they could go to homeroom.

Bane lurched to his feet and set his steps toward the cafeteria, someone was going to get him breakfast this morning.

-W..M..W-

Bane slung his single shoulder strap backpack into the chair next to the slender boy, making him jump violently. Then he dropped into the chair directly across from the freshman boy, elbows thumping onto the table as he loomed over the table. The poor boy shook like a leaf under the red eyed gaze burning into him across the table. Even though he was a couple feet away and out of arm's reach from the subject of his fear, he was obviously scared.

"Food good today?" Bane purred in a low, almost gentle, voice. The boy jumped and nodded hesitantly. Then, unsure that was the correct answer he shook his head, then shrugged, then just looked away. The pale boy chuckled softly, "Good as the rest of the garbage they serve I suppose."

Bane tilted his head slightly, considering the other like a cat mentally dissects a mouse before going in for the kill. Finally, Bane slammed his hands down on the table, rattling the boy's breakfast tray, making him whimper slightly. Bane, still pleasant and nonchalant as could be, said as though he was speaking with a friend, "I'm a bit hungry myself."

"I'm not," the boy almost shouted, and scrambled away from the table and out of the cafeteria.

Humming under his breath, Bane stood then sat in the boy's seat next to his backpack and began devouring the poor kid's breakfast. Once he was finished he rifled through the red bookbag the boy had left under the table. He took the Gatorade and the few candy bars he found, but left the mp3 player and notebooks. The bell tolled for the beginning of homeroom. As he headed for his locker he dropped the bag off at the lost and found.

-W..M..W—

"Lemme go, Howard!" The brunette boy jerked the sleeve of his hooded sweatshirt from the clutches of his assailant. A wry smile twisted Bane's face, watching these two interact through the years was like watching an intricate dance.

"Not until you accept this, Gregor! Stop denying your true self!" Or perhaps like watching ice hockey.

"I'm _dating_ your _cousin_!" Ice hockey where everyone had Wolverine claws.

Bane slammed the door to his locker shut with undue force. The two boys beside him, one a sophomore, the other a senior, jumped at the unexpected noise as if no one else could hear them arguing. Howard especially labored under this delusion, because, despite his near daily cries for Gregor to notice him, he had not as of yet come out of the closet. Those who knew his parents said they'd been aware since freshman year, as had his brothers and sisters. The funny part was that they were completely fine with it, Howard just wouldn't admit it. Just like Gregor wouldn't admit his nonexistent love for the silver haired teen.

Bane brushed past the two, bumping Howard slightly and distracting him for just long enough that Gregor had time to bolt toward his first period class. Howard had been about to shout at the pale teenager when he noticed his quarry had fled, and when he turned back to verbally abuse the cause of this misfortune, he was greeted by the retreating back of Bane.

-W..M..W—

First period passed uneventfully in Bane's opinion. This could have been because he was asleep the entire time, but if it didn't wake him up, it obviously wasn't important enough to take note of. When he looked into his second period class, though, he almost turned right back around, preferring to skip the class than go through the promised hell. A few other students jostled him as they attempted to enter the room, so, taking a deep breath, he entered and sat in his usual seat. As the rest of the students filed into the room he glared at the substitute teacher. 'Go on,' he mentally urged the man. 'Do it. I freaking dare you.'

The man walked up to the front of the class, clipboard in hand. He was young, probably just out of school, and that clipboard obviously made him feel important. Bane wanted to snap it in half and bury the pieces in the bastard's throat. As he went down the list of students, Bane almost allowed his hopes to raise. Cassiopeia. Purvox. Euclidian. He was doing pretty good with names for a sub. And then…

"Er…Pearlplut, Pullpet…no, um, Purput?"

"It's Bane," The red eyed boy spat through teeth clenched almost as hard as the firsts balled up in his lap.

"No, no, I can get it," the sub assured him. "Um…Pearlpet?"

A fist slammed onto the desk in front of him, "Call. Me. Bane."

"What? Oh-oh yes," he made a note on his clipboard, smiled absently at the absurdity of teenagers and their silly nicknames, then continued down his list. He had no idea how close he'd come to death. Snickers could be heard around the room, Bane could swear he heard someone behind him whisper, "Aw, poor Pearlpet."

His nails were digging into his palms, and the only reason he didn't leave the room right then was because he knew, from experience, that the mockery would just be worse. He breathed out, trying to calm himself, and spent the rest of the period drawing terrible dismemberments and gross deaths for the silly young man attempting to teach social studies obviously ignorant of the fact that no one ever expects a substitute teacher to teach.

When the bell rang, seemingly five minutes later thanks to the entertainment value of the homicidal doodles, Bane stood, intentionally bumped into the sub, and strode out of the room. The paper detailing intricate demises remained forgotten on his desk. Bane was greeted in front of his next class by three senior boys, the one in the middle almost as tall as he was, and a little bit heavier. He growled under his breath, "Ratriff…"

"Hey Pearliegirle," he cat called, sauntering closer to the other. Bane tried to ignore him, attempting to push past the boy and his two accomplices, but they blocked his way. They didn't even have this class, Bane scowled; they had actually come over here for the specific reason of harassing him and making his day that much more difficult.

"Where ya goin, Pearlpet?" one of the lackeys prodded.

"Yeah, Pearliegirlie, why don't ya stick around for tea, sweetie?" The three snickered.

"You're so gay, Ratriff," Bane sneered, "Trying to proposition me in the hallway."

"That's not what I was doing!" he shouted furiously. "If anyone's gay it's you, Pearlpet, why else would you have that long hair and eyeliner? Bet you practiced swinging your hips when you walked to advertise for a boyfriend." The two standing behind Ratriff fist bumped in homage to his snide remark.

"Didn't know you spent that much time watching my ass, Ratriff," He scoffed, and tried once more to get into the class that he must have been late for at that point. Ratriff's hand slammed into the wall, once more blocking Bane's way, and immediately the pale boy's slightly annoyed and snippy behavior dropped in favor of a snarl. Bane grabbed the other boy's arm at the wrist and elbow saying furiously, "I'm going to break your arm off and shove it into your face. Let me through."

Ratriff flinched at the threat, then, realizing he had shown weakness he quickly attempted to save face, "As if. You're all bark and no bite, Pearliegirlie."

"Pearlpelt, Pearlpelt, Pearlpelt! Get it right, asshole!" With that he launched the boy down the hallway, using the hold he had on his arm to give him leverage and momentum. Ratriff's friends chased after him to make sure he was alright, and Bane strode into class half an hour late.

-W..M..W—

As his class was let out to go to lunch, Bane stopped by his locker to grab his lunch card. To the right, a slender girl with long silver hair was buried in a search for something in her locker, seemingly oblivious to the world. When he opened his locker a thin ethereal voice floated from the one beside him, "Greetings, Bane, getting your lunch card?"

Bane extracted the annoying piece of plastic from the catastrophe that lived in his locker, and shut it so he could lean on the door. He rolled his eyes at the girl who was closest to what he could call a friend, both being outcasts kind of put them in that situation. "Look, Nissa," he said, using the pet name he'd made up for her, "I know you just recognize my steps, and I always forget my lunch card."

"Or, maybe, I am attuned to your aura," Nerissa found the object she was searching for and closed her locker, looking up at Bane. He couldn't tell where her sleepless dark circles ended and the makeup began. She's like a really old white furred raccoon, he thought.

"Seriously, Nis, lay off the bullshit," Bane scoffed, crossing his arms. He was cool if she thought she was psychic, or schizophrenic, or whatever she was. It was just exhausting having to deal with it on an almost daily basis. Oh look, I'm psychic, watch me tell you things you already know! Not to mention, it got her picked on and messed with mercilessly by others in the school, and she wasn't like Bane, she couldn't take care of herself. He couldn't count the number of times he'd gotten in a fight over this tiny girl, and she still didn't get the point.

"You are such a callous being, Bane," Nerissa said, obviously hurt by what he was saying.

"Go eat a sandwich, Nissa," he waved her off, getting in a last jibe about how bone thin she was. "Come back when you want to play big person games."

Nerissa glared at him with all her might, and then flounced off furiously. Her dramatic exit was slightly hindered by the fact that she had to gather up her books and papers. Bane rolled his eyes and turned back to his locker, realizing he'd accidentally left the books for his next class in there. Just as he closed it, he felt two small hands on his back, and was shoved face first against the metal door.

"Will you leave her alone?" Came the indignant scream from behind him, he turned to face this new threat, looked over the top of it, and then looked two feet below his field of vision. A slender well muscled girl stood before him. Her hands on her hips, short silver hair bristling with the fury she radiated. Her tank top bore the words 'No Balls in Derby.'

"Ah, Geez..." Bane sighed, bemoaning his fate.

"Don't you 'Ah Geez' me," she said, mocking his voice in a whiny tone.

"She's the one that keeps talking to me, Luxa," Bane reminded her. "She's smart enough to realize that if she keeps talking to me, I'm going to keep doing the same thing. She just doesn't want to acknowledge that."

Luxa practically fumed, "I don't get how you can be such an _asshole_ to the one person in this school who'll give you the time of day."

"No she won't!" the white haired boy exclaimed, growing snide rapidly as he became irritated. "She doesn't wear a watch! She's trying to learn to tell time using the energy of the earth."

The sophomore girl glowed with rage, making a furious noise deep in her throat that sounded almost like a growl she shoved Bane against the lockers again. A loud bang rang through the hallway, and all the other students turned in their direction. Annoyed, Bane pushed the small girl off of him using two fingers. Luxa stumbled back, her slender frame not providing enough resistance against the negligent flick of his wrist.

"I swear, I'll beat you senseless, you overgrown jerk!" Luxa declared, landing a blow square on Bane's chest. He actually flinched back from the force of her punch. For a brief moment he recalled hearing that she had been in Judo since she was six. Ah well. Besides,

"You do realize I've got two feet and fifty pounds on you, right?" He observed wryly.

"Are you threatening me?" She was outraged, despite her earlier declaration.

Bane sneered, "Normally I don't hit girls, but I figure I'll make an exception for a feminazi. I thought you'd be flattered."

Years of combat training flew out the window, in her anger. Almost blinded with fury she did the first thing she thought of. She grabbed a huge handful of Bane's shaggy white hair and pulled. Hard. She jerked him down to her level and kneed him in the chest.

"I'm done playing," Bane announced. He grabbed both of Luxa's wrists, then stooped down and swept her legs up in the arm. Within moments the girl was suspended upside down by both ankles like an angry piñata.

"Alright, alright, break it up," It was the gym teacher, Cleaver. Nice timing, Bane observed, walk in right at the end of the fight. In fact, when Cleaver had seen that it involved Bane, he'd purposely waited for the altercation to clean itself up. With Bane it was highly likely that, his fight interrupted, he'd just turn on whoever had gotten in the way. Now, Cleaver was a big man, lifted weights in his free time, and had played football in college, but messing with Bane was like walking into a cage with a really pissed off wildcat.

"Whatever," Bane replied, dropping Luxa's ankles. Her hands touched the ground first and she got to her feet with a handspring.

"Dick," Luxa spat before walking off to join her best friend Aurora.

"Yeah, we all know you have penis envy, Luxa," The white haired boy called after her snidely. He would have continued and probably provoked her further, but Cleaver was standing over his shoulder. Actually his silence probably had more to do with the enchanting movement of the back of Aurora's miniskirt. She did her head cheerleader title justice with long golden curls that tumbled down her back and smooth bronze colored legs that were bare even in the winter. Bane shook the faint buzz from his mind and turned to head to lunch, noticing as he did so that Cleaver seemed to be in quite the same trance as he was.

"She won't sleep with you, you know," Bane informed him. "Just thought you'd like to know."

Cleaver snarled at him, flushing in a combination of rage, embarrassment and probably disappointment, "Get to class you little mongrel! If I hear you've gotten in anymore trouble today I'll throw you out of this school myself."

"I have lunch," was the reply as he walked away unconcerned. "And she still won't sleep with you."

-W..M..W—

Bane sat in a solitary silence, slowly eating the swill that the women in the kitchen had dubbed meatloaf with corn and green beans. Thankfully he had the Gatorade that he'd snagged from the freshman's backpack so he didn't have to content himself with the half swallow of milk he was allotted. He got free lunch from the school due to his monetary situation (as in completely broke), but he felt that they should probably be paying him for eating this garbage.

Although the lunch room was crowded and the tables were made to seat eight and normally sat twelve, no one ventured close to Bane's table in the corner of the lunch room. They had all learned long ago that even if he was vaguely cordial to a small handful of people no one messed with Bane during meals. This was his time to be alone with his thoughts, away from all the harassments that daily school brought.

As he hummed a low tune under his breath he heard the anxious breathing and whimpering of someone coming up to the right. Bane looked up, flicking the white hair from in front of his eyes to see the junior who helped out in the office as a student aide. He was clutching a yellow slip of paper like it was a lifesaver. "Um…er…Miss Clawsin wants.."

Bane stood and the boy flinched, he continued trying to stutter out the message before Bane finally just snapped, "I know what she wants. Go."

He didn't need to be told twice and flung the slip of paper on the lunch table, fleeing for the safety of the front office where there were no disturbingly large white haired psychopaths to tear him apart for interrupting their lunch. Or where there? No, there weren't.

-W..M..W—

It was difficult for Bane to force himself to walk through the door that led to the school counselor's office. Clawsin had been informed of his entire sordid history when he had transferred to the school, and had made it clear to him that if he ever had any problems that he should feel welcome to talk to her. He felt quite welcome to tear her eyes from their sockets, but wasn't fond of the idea of jail, so he just tried to avoid her.

Soon enough, however, she figured out his strategy and thus began encouraging teachers and students to refer him to her office as well as setting up mandatory monthly appointments. He had been called in to this stupid office for so many reasons he had lost count. Fighting, coming to class late, a rather graphic creative writing project, skipping a meal, and 'looking down' had all landed him in the overly cushy chair opposite in front of the desk of the minor demon he called Clawsin. For a while it had been a common joke among students to refer him just to piss him off until Clawsin had accidentally let slip who had referred him and the student had to get a broken nose set within half an hour of the appointment.

Bane threw himself into the chair, staring hard at the object of his distaste and disdain. Clawsin was, as always, dressed in a power suit that was all the same color, canary yellow today, and big bulky necklaces. Her hair was dyed reddish brown, but the greys rebelliously showed through. An obviously fake grin was spread across her features looking more like a grimace than a smile.

"Well then, Pearlpelt, my dear," Clawsin began, sugar dripping off her words. "I suppose you probably already know what this is about, hm?"

"My name is Bane," was all he would say. Staring sullenly at the desk in front of him, slouched down in the chair he was at eye level with the loathsome woman.

Although she would have died before she told the poor troubled soul before her, she wasn't particularly bothered by how he was feeling, or even the violent tendencies he had shown that should really have been addressed by someone who actually knew how to deal with troubled young people. She was concerned with the big fat government check that the school got for allowing this psychotic teenager to be educated there when most of the alternative schools wouldn't even take him. The money was supposed to go to special accommodations that would make his education easier, or be invested in him in some way, but the school felt that he was lucky to even be enrolled, so they spent it on…other things.

"That's not what your birth certificate says, so that's not what I'm calling you," Clawsin replied cheerily, her smile stretched like it did when she was frustrated with him, he hoped it hurt to open that much. "Now, do you know why you're here?"

"Something asinine and insignificant?" Bane guessed, mocking her cheery tone and then sinking even further into the chair trying to set the desk on fire through sheer power of will.

Clawsin sighed, patting her hair back into place, even though it hadn't moved, and donned her 'I'm disappointed in you because you can do better,' smile. She withdrew a piece of notebook paper from the thick manila folder that was Bane's permanent record. Glancing at it for a brief moment he recognized it as the sheet he had scrawled violence all over. He cursed internally for forgetting it in the class. "Care to explain this?"

For a few moments he refused to respond, then, feeling the grey lifeless eyes on him he realized that she would sit like this until school let out and then follow him home with the same stare unless he spoke up. "He messed up my name. I tried to tell him to call me Bane, but he wouldn't stop. He butchered it like…five times, in front of the whole class."

"Well, darling," Clawsin said, stereotypical counselor voice firmly in place. "Pearlpelt is a bit difficult to say if you aren't used to it, perhaps you should-"

Bane cut her off, leaning forward over the desk, hands gripping it so hard it left white marks in the wood. "Difficult to say? Peeeaaaarl-peeeeelllllt," he drew the name out comically slow, enunciating with exaggerated carefulness. "It's two words that no one has problems saying when they aren't connected! Who in the hell actually has problems with the damn name, except for every substitute this stupid school hires! It can't be the alliteration, because there are plenty of kids wandering around with stupid names that blend together and no one messes with them. For Sandwich's sake, the idiot pronounced Descartes right! Philosophy majors can't do that! Forget this! I don't care if he was 'disturbed' by my drawing or whatever, who isn't disturbed by ever movement I make these days, I'm sick of it, and he deserves everything on that paper and more."

"You know," Clawsin began thoughtfully, staring at the boy over her hands, fingers spread, tips touching. "I'm beginning to sense some hostility connected to your name, perhaps we can talk about that?"

Bane stared at her in utter amazement, "You've got to be kidding me," he snapped, and sat down again, still gazing at her with stunned disbelief in his red eyes. 'Why won't you die?' he asked her silently.

"I'm quite serious, but perhaps we will revisit this breakthrough later," she gave him a very serious look, tapping her finger pointedly on the offending sheet of notebook paper. "The point remains that you simply cannot exhibit such violence against a substitute teacher. We have a difficult enough time getting subs as it is-Oops."

She raised her fingertips to her bright pink painted lips. Bane's eyebrow quirked curiously, "Why might that be?"

"Oh, well, I really shouldn't have said that, and it would be quite wrong of me to continue," the fact that her voice lowered and she leaned forward conspiratorially belied this fact. "It is a little bit of a challenge to find a substitute for this school, it's got a bit of a bad reputation you know." She smiled as if she had just done him a huge favor by letting him in on this little fact.

Bane barked out a laugh, "That's all? You're kidding right?"

"This is a bit of an unusual school," Clawsin said, defending her gossip. She was about to continue but was cut off by more laughter from the boy in front of her.

"Look, lady, this school is exactly like the other six high schools I've been to. You're full of it," Bane sneered.

Clawsin drew herself up haughtily, "Let me tell you, Pearlpelt, I have been a counselor at four public schools in the area and this is by far-"

"The worst? What's the big deal about BS High School, huh?" Bane prompted, actually amused now. "The name? The drugs? The sex in the bathrooms? Cause let me tell you, every school has that. What about the math teacher that likes to go down on her 'best' students during her planning period? Or is it the fact that the head of the cheerleading squad is a lesbian?"

For the first time in his life, Bane had the distinct pleasure of seeing his words completely disarm the counselor. Her well kept smile was gone, her mouth agape and eyes wide with astonishment. She didn't say anything as he stood up, and didn't move when he walked out of the room, pleased beyond anything by the effect his words had on her, but still furious that he had been brought into the accursed room in the first place.

Extracting an excuse slip from a pocket of his back pack he dropped it off at the front office after scrawling a date, time, and a passable forgery of Clawsin's signature on it. He had stolen the pad of slips from her desk during his appointment three weeks ago, and was relieve that he did. This day was over as far as Bane was concerned, if it wasn't there was no telling who was losing a head.

His footsteps where heavy with anger as he strode out the door of the school to catch the one pm bus back to his apartment, but as he rode a small smile crossed his face at the memory of the look on Clawsin's face.


	4. Eggplant Arsenic

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **Eggplant Arsenic

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference, language, vegetarian rants and eggplant burgers. Oh yeah, I'm still going for it. Check this shit out. Things get pretty good in this chapter, I think.

**Beta:** none.

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W—

Ares was coming back from setting up his P.O. box with the…person at the front desk when Bane got back from school. He was obviously furious, pushing Ares out of the way as he went to go into the elevator. He stood there fuming as Ares stumbled in, glaring at the pale boy. Bane began kicking the wall of the elevator as it dinged its way up the floors. Each kick dented it slightly and made the whole elevator groan, and Ares would flinch every time this happened. When he looked over at the wall he noticed it was completely dented in a two by two foot area, some of them small little nicks, others far larger and many looking quite old. His eyes followed up the wall and saw, at perfect fist level for the tall teenage boy, another collection of dents, even a few larger ones about the height of his forehead. Ares shivered slightly at the obvious display of violence and the perfectly mapped history of previous losses of control. Cute or not, he was starting to reconsider the truth of the serial killer comment from the night before.

The doors chimed open at the floor and Ares quickly exited before Bane decided to utilize the potential punching bag. He flinched as he heard one final blow, from a fist most likely, that Bane landed on the wall before following. Seeing his new acquaintance up in front of him he bounded toward the dark young man.

'Oh god, here it comes,' Ares braced himself and was stunned when he felt the shockingly gentle touch on his shoulder. When he turned he was greeted by a completely different person from the one in the elevator, and even the shy awkward person who had spoken with him last night.

"Ares," he greeted simply, a smile on his face. He seemed far brighter than Ares had ever seen him, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. A black eyebrow arched slightly as he turned around.

"The hell was that about?" Ares demanded, gesturing toward the elevator. Bane looked confused for a little while then the lightbulb clicked on and his face darkened.

"_That_ was about complete bullshit," he responded. Then his mood lightened again, voice bordering on cheery. "My old counselor, the only one I really liked, gave me that idea. Instead of taking things out on people around me, I associate release of anger with one space. Elevator's not gonna get a hole in it like my wall will, and it's such a short ride I don't have time to do anything too crazy. Makes me feel hella better."

He grinned at Ares, happy to tell someone something of his own volition instead of being forced to do so like normal. Ares shook his head in disbelief at the snap of the fingers change the boy was going through. "Your favorite, huh? How many have you been to see?"

He was joking, but Bane completely shut off. Blank slate, completely emotionless, and actually turned away and began to walk off, shoulders hunched like he was carrying a weight from those simple words. Ares realized his mistake within seconds.

"Wait!" he tried to grab the pale boy's wrist or arm, but only managed to tug on the sleeve of his t-shirt. Bane turned, looking irritated, obviously just wanting to leave now. "Wanna come by my apartment and hang out?"

There's the bright look again.

-W..M..W-

"Got any food? I'm starving," Bane lolled on the mattress that was the only real place to sit in the entire apartment. Knowing this, Ares controlled his automatic gross out response at the thought of someone else in his bed.

"You're lucky I've got leftovers from last night," Ares responded with an eyeroll as he put the food in the microwave. "So why're you here so early, don't you have school?"

Bane made a disdainful noise, "Yeah, I did. Left early. There's no point to that place. I stayed long enough to be counted as present, so it doesn't come close to mattering. And don't roll your eyes at me."

"Geez, with an attitude like that are you even on track to graduate?" Ares asked, walking over with the plate of food and a bag of chips for himself.

"You on track to butting out of my personal life?" Bane huffed, and rolled over to face the wall, arms crossed.

Ares scowled, and sat down, "Alright, look, if you don't want to talk about something just say so, stop being a drama queen. Now here's your stupid food."

Immediately, Bane turned back around, sitting cross legged and snatching the plate from his friend. "Mmm, burger," he purred, letting out a sigh of satisfaction that was almost sexual in nature.

Ares rolled his eyes and opened his bag of chips, "Cheeto?" He offered the crunchy orange thing to Bane. He was surprised to see the pale teen balk at the proffered morsel.

"No thanks, man. Seriously. I don't eat anything that's orange."

Ares stared in disbelief, "What?"

"Food isn't supposed to be orange, it's a gross color and it makes gross food. I'm not touching that shit," Bane turned away signifying the end of the conversation, and focused his attention to the food on the plate before him. Salivating, and near starving, he took an enormous bite of the burger. Then gagged violently, spat it out on his plate, threw said plate onto the floor, then stood and pointed accusingly at Ares.

"You're trying to kill me!"

"What the hell, Bane?"

"I should be asking you the same question, what's the big deal trying to poison me? What the hell was in that burger?" He pointed with two fingers now, feeling that one finger just didn't convey the intensity he felt.

"It was just a grilled eggplant burger you crazy bastard."

Bane backed down ever so slightly, letting one of his hands drop to his side, but keeping the other finger pointed at Ares just in case. "Are you sure there's no arsenic in it?"

Ares scowled, "No, there's no arsenic. No poison. Just eggplant, tomato, cheese, lettuce. Tastes just like a real burger."

"LIES!" Bane screamed, and the other arm came right back up, both fingers pointed right in his face, "Nasty veggies do not taste like meat. Why the _hell_ would you have eggplant in a burger instead of cow. Cow, Ares. Delicious, dead cow."

Ares gagged slightly, "God, why do you have to say it like that? It sounds so gross. I'm a vegetarian, chill the hell out."

The pale boy grabbed the other by the shoulders and shook him violently, "Blasphemy! Heresy! Madness! I will drive the demon out of you! Purify the lips through which no meat has passed! You must know the truth. Truth I say!"

"Ah, let me go!" Ares pulled away, shocked by the display, however humorous. But Bane wasn't going to let go, and the harder Ares jerked away, the more the other boy would shake him. Ares won the tug of war, but instead of letting his hands fall, Bane kept tight hold of the dark young man. So Ares fell backward onto the mattress, and Bane fell on top of him in a tangle of limbs, the eggplant sandwich lay forgotten. Bright crimson spread from the back of his neck all the way to the roots of his hair, the position the two were in clearly making him uncomfortable in an oddly comfortable way. "C'mon, man, get off."

Bane didn't even seem to notice, instead he leaned back, still straddling the other, and laughed triumphantly, fists raised into the air. "I have won! Eat meat!"

"Shut the hell up, I don't want to eat meat, that's why I don't!" Ares continued to struggle, but the pale boy was stronger than him as well as larger. The fact that Ares was uncomfortable didn't even register on his radar. He shifted into a more comfortable position, knees on either side of Ares's stomach, sitting between his legs, and he appeared to be settling in for a long stay.

"So, why're you a veggie face?" He poked his friend on the forehead.

"A what? Look, I don't really love the taste, and I hate the meat industry because it's abusive, what does it matter?"

"Aw, don't get offended, Ares," Bane purred softly, ruffling the soft black hair like one would do to a child. "But don't you know that the more an animal suffers, the better it tastes?"

Ares gagged again, "Why do you keep doing that?"

"I will get you to eat meat, mark my words," he declared ignoring the question directed toward him.

"You're barking up the wrong tree," Ares informed him coolly. The white haired teen shifted again, trying to stay comfortable despite the studded leather belt that was digging into his leg and how bony his new chair was. Ares, who had almost gotten to the point of ignoring the boy straddling him in favor of righteous indignation, turned bright red again. The shifting and squirming having reawakened that uncomfortably warm sensation from before.

"That's it!" He announced grabbing Bane by the shoulders and tossing him to the side off the bed. He sat up quickly in case Bane had any thoughts about pouncing on him again. If there was any chance of keeping this relationship innocent that squirmy lap thing couldn't happen anymore. To distract Bane from noticing just how red and out of breath he was, Ares began tossing Cheetos at him. Bane squealed as one hit him in the head, backpedaling quickly to get away from it, finally standing up and running away from the vengeful Ares who was intent on pelting him the in back of the head with the hated orange food.

Finally, tired and out of Cheetos, Ares sank to the ground. Bane turned around and gave him a quizzical look. "Awww," he whined, flicking his mussed hair out of his face. "No more playing?" He cocked his head to the side with a slight pout, and looked so much like a disappointed puppy that Ares couldn't help but laugh. And after he started he couldn't stop, slowly Bane started laughing to, and they both ended up in a puddle on the floor.

Bane pushed himself up on one arm with a contented sigh, then turned to his friend. His sharp eyes caught the distinct square package in Ares's back pocket and instantly his hand shot toward it. Ares gasped and flushed for the third time that day as he felt a large warm hand fishing around in his back pocket. As he turned to scold the perpetrator he saw Bane shove one of the cigarettes in his mouth, holding it tight in his lips in case Ares decided he wanted it back.

"You thieving bastard!" Ares exclaimed, snatching his half full pack from the boy's hands. He was going to take the one in his mouth too for good measure, but wasn't certain the reaction he would get. After his dietary preferences got him an indignant half a lap dance, Ares didn't want to risk the reclamation of a cigarette.

"What?" Bane said innocently, slightly distorted by how tightly he was holding the cigarette.

"Are you even old enough to smoke?" The dark haired man questioned skeptically. He was met by earnest red eyes and rapid nods. He laughed a little and stood up, offering his hand to Bane. "You could've just asked if that was the case."

Bane grabbed the proffered hand, resisting the temptation to just drag Ares down onto the floor next to him, and stood. A sudden thought hit him and he began to tug Ares toward the door saying, "C'mon, I can get us up onto the roof, let's go!"

Ares looked nonplussed, but shrugged and followed behind the boy as he strode excitedly down the hall. He bounced in the elevator as it took them to the top floor and nearly bolted to the maintenance crew only door hidden at the far end of the hall in an alcove. As he jerked at the handle to the ceiling hatch, Ares grew more nervous. "We're definitely not supposed to be here."

"Where's your sense of adventure? Does not eating meat strip you of that?" His red eyes rolled, and with a final push he opened the hatch and clambered up the ladder. Looking down at Ares through the hole in the ceiling he added with an arrogant grin, "It's not like they can stop me."

-W..M..W-

"I love vegetarian smokers," Bane observed with a smirk, taking a drag of his stolen cigarette.

"You what?" He was certain that he had misheard, or just not understood what Bane was trying to say. After the events of today things were all just muddled up in his head. The knowledge that Bane was eighteen had been a relief, but also a curse, because now he kept having 'what-ifs' wander annoyingly through his head.

"It's just so deliciously hypocritical," he flicked the butt off the edge of the building that his legs dangled from and looked back at Ares who was reclining safely a few feet behind him. "You don't eat meat because of the horrible things they do to animals, and the environmental consequences. And yet, you never stop to consider all the people dying of cancer from second hand smoking, or how you're fouling up the air with the smoke. Trees have to breathe this air, Ares, you dick."

Ares was surprised by this tirade, and was too stunned to be upset that he was being called a hypocrite. He was hard pressed to find an argument to counter Bane's. "There aren't any trees around here," he pointed out, grinding the remnants of his cigarette on the roof top. "So I'm not hurting anything, except you, and you're killing yourself without much difficulty."

"Well put," Bane acknowledged. He stretched his arms up, then lay back on the roof, hands beneath his head. "D'you eat fish?"

"No," Ares replied. The constant questions about his dietary habits and morals were starting to wear on his nerves.

"Good. Screw those people. Oh, I'm a vegetarian, but fish don't count as animals because they aren't cute and fuzzy. Racists," he spat. He flipped his shaggy white hair in front of his face and let out a contented sigh as he reveled in the warmth of the sun.

Ares rolled his eyes, "I hardly think that counts as racism." There was silence from behind him where his companion lay, and he assumed that he was being ignored. Then he felt a plucking at the back of his shirt, finally, tired of waiting for Ares to get the hint, Bane grabbed him by the waist and pulled him back onto the rooftop. His dark hair mingled with the white strands of the boy behind him. Bane's eyes were still closed; the only acknowledgment of the other's presence beside him was a brief pat on the head before he brought his hand back to join his other. Ares took this chance to get a closer look at the boy now that he wasn't being terrorized by him or arguing with him.

The rays of sun gave Bane's pallid skin and white hair a kind of glow, making him look almost like a normal person. Looking closely Ares saw that even his long eyelashes were stark white. His lips, the only color on his pale face, were curved gently into a smile of pure contentment. He looked like he was a cat who had found the perfect patch of sunshine. Ares had the urge to run his fingers through the shining white hair to see if petting would result in a purr.

Instead, he sat upright so quickly he thought he might have given himself whiplash. _No, bad, Ares._ He scolded himself mentally. The last thing he needed to do was freak out the only somewhat normal person he had met in this building. It was far better to have Bane's friendship than to risk it all on some ridiculous crush that would probably pass in a week or so. _I'm just lonely, so I'm latching on to the closest person, that's all._

He heard a quiet yawn behind him, and Bane sat up next to him, rubbing his eyes. "Why'd you get up?"

"It was uncomfortable to lay on the roof," Ares answered glibly, glancing out at the buildings instead of back at Bane. He was paranoid that if he looked him in the eye he would know exactly what thoughts had been drifting through his head.

Bane ran a hand through his permanently mussed hair, as though he could tame it. "So, Ares," he began, dragging the dark haired man from his musings and worries. "What's your story?"

"My, what?"

"Your story. Why are you here? I've met enough people in this apartment to know that they all come here for a reason, and normally it's a damn good story." He reached out and grabbed Ares's shoulders, forcing him to look him in the eye. "Entertain me."

"You're more demanding than a three year old, you know," Ares observed, then shrugged. "There isn't much to tell, honestly. My parents kicked me out of the house when I was sixteen. For a couple years I lived with my best friend and tried to attend college. Eventually I left Henry's house after we had a falling out. I had an associate's degree under my belt, then, and I couch surfed for a while. I had an apartment for a while, but I got fired from both my jobs in and lived on the streets for a bit. My friend Nike eventually took me in and I stayed with her for a while, working odd jobs and saving for my own apartment. Then, magically, I landed a job after ages of searching. It's at this record label pretty close to this apartment. They're going to pay for me to finish my degree in music management if I stay with them long enough. I sold everything so I could live here and be close to the building, and get away from Nike's crazy mom. I start work Monday."

"Uh huh," Bane didn't look very impressed. "Got any vices, besides the smoking? Drink to blackout? Drugs? Sex addiction?" His eyes glimmered at this suggestion, like it was something exciting.

Ares blushed, something he swore he wouldn't do in front of Bane again. "No, none of those."

"Go to parties? You said you'd been to college, did you go wild?"

This time Ares just rolled his eyes. "No. Parties really aren't my thing." _Anymore_, he added silently. He didn't really enjoy parties, but they were excellent places to meet people. For a night at least.

"Liar," The white haired boy muttered, before continuing his cross examination. "Girlfriend?"

"What?" Ares choked out, bright red once more.

"Do you have one? A girlfriend."

"No, I don't have a partner," he replied, which was his stock answer for these kinds of questions. Saying he didn't have a girlfriend made it sound like he was only interested in girls, and if saying he didn't have a partner made it sound like he was gay, then so be it. What he was more concerned about was not jumping to conclusions. Asking if he had a girlfriend was probably just part of Bane's apparently boundless curiosity. He was struggling to keep his facial expression in control when he was thinking of all the other things he wanted to say. _No, I don't have a girlfriend, but I'd like to get to know you. Like to mess up that hair, and pull that shirt off and lay you out on the roof and-Bad, Ares. Stop._

"Gawd," Bane huffed. "You're so boring."

Ares scowled at him, "I'm sorry I'm not entertaining enough for you. But I'm just normal."

"You should be sorry, but there's no way you're normal," He said, like he was passing judgment. "No one that lives here is normal. Either you didn't tell me the whole story, which I'm sure you didn't, or something will happen to you here. I'll guarantee it."

"Whatever you say," Ares replied, flipping his dark hair in front of his eyes. He was getting pretty desperate to get a break from this constant turmoil, but at the same time, he didn't want to leave. "So, what about your story?"

"Oh no," Bane said with a smirk. In a fluid motion he stood up, looking down at Ares with a smug expression on his face. "You're not getting my life story just like that. I'm not easy like you."

With that double entendre he left Ares on the roof, stunned, and strangely looking forward to their next meeting.


	5. Super Happy Filler Time GO! No 1

**White Lies**

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **Super Happy Filler Time GO! (No. 1)

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference, language, teenagers doing teenager things and carsecks. First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who has been reading and reviewing. You guys make my freaking day, all the time. You make me want to keep writing because I know someone is looking forward to my updates and I know I hate waiting for updates. This isn't to say that I won't update if you don't review, but that you make it far more appealing. Anyway, you people are awesome and amazing. Thank you!

Second, I'd like to explain this update. This story is very complex and has a lot of different tiny subplots, and a lot of interesting little details that I've thought up. However, if I worked them all directly into the story we would never get anywhere, especially not to the Ares/Bane er…stuff. So every three chapters, maybe more, maybe less, whenever I gather enough tiny little stories, I'll post one of these with about four small bits. These are pretty much all for fun, and have no bearing on the actual story or plot line, but they flesh out the main and fringe characters a lot more. Have fun reading!

**Beta: **

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W—

Bane flicked his lighter repeatedly, but it didn't light. It stubbornly refused to even spark, there was just a sad clicking sound like it was whimpering 'I'm trying, I really am.' He shook it, then tapped the end on his hand and tried again, once more he received only the despondent click for his efforts.

"Dammit!" He snapped, then started to hit it in the roof, occasionally flicking it again, and when it failed to respond, hitting it with greater force.

"Geez, Bane, I'm actually starting to feel sorry for that piece of plastic you're abusing," Ares stood and walked over o sit next to the boy. "Just use mine."

"I liked this one so much, though," he pouted, gazing with fond sorrow at the fluorescent purple Invader insignia emblazoned on the black lighter. "Ah well, I haven't thrown a lighter away for a while. This should be fun."

The wild grin on the boy's face unnerved Ares almost as much as the fact that he was beginning to stand up on the edge of the building. "Wait, where are you going?" Ares scrambled after his companion who was striding purposefully across the roof. "Don't you want to use my lighter?"

"Nah, I'll seal it later," Bane replied with a shrug. "You know the reason I sit over on that side? IT's got the best view, over here, there's only this stupid parking garage." The two men stood for a brief moment gazing at the monstrously tall granite grey structure, then Bane, idly tossing and catching the lighter, turned to Ares with the devilish smirk that the dark haired man was starting to get used to. "Pick a car."

"Why?" Ares was wary. As much as he was becoming accustomed to his neighbor's odd mannerisms, he had learned to equate the eerie smile with something that was going to startle or disturb him, normally with Bane's most genuinely honest intentions.

"Just do it, trust me." The red eyes widened and his grin shrank into an almost pout, but the mischief still lurked behind the shroud of innocence.

Ares sighed, the lurking feeling that he was going to inadvertently be part of something dangerous or outrageous tugged at him. "The, um…blue Nissan there, on the third level."

"Nice," Bane observed, then, with a fluid motion, he chucked the lighter at the car. It hit the paneling between the passenger window and the front windshield. "Damn, missed the mark."

"What the hell?" Ares shouted as the car alarm began blaring. "How did you come to the conclusion that that was anything close to a good idea?"

"Oh, shit, get down!" Ares was dragged to the roof top by the white haired boy who was flat on his stomach peering over the edge of the roof. Down on the parking garage the alarm was turned off. A man with mussed hair, missing tie and a business shit open at the front, climbed out of the passenger's side door. Obviously swearing furiously, trying to find the projectile that had hit his car. After a brief moment a slender woman with silvery blonde hair slunk out of the passenger's side. She was hastily fixing her updo and straightening her blouse.

As Ares finally put two and two together, Bane voiced his thoughts with a crow of delight.

"Oh-my-god. They were screwing!"

-W..M..W—

Gregor gently stroked his girlfriend's bare stomach, his other hand threaded in the short but silky soft hair. She sighed contentedly and pulled the blanket up over her shoulders, eyes slowly drifting closed. "You know, if you put your shirt back on you might be warmer," he suggested playfully.

"No," was the only answer Luxa deigned to give him, curling closer into him.

They were in her room, her aunt and uncle were at work, and her cousins were at school, leaving them blissfully alone. Gregor, shirtless as well, was leaning against the head of her twin bed, and she was in his lap, arms around his waist.

Gregor had thought the invitation to come to her house when it would be empty would have led to a little more than some passionate kissing and brief teasing, and he was ever so slightly disappointed. Luxa, on the other hand, seemed perfectly content. He was happy to spend time with her as well, of course…but…they had been dating for almost a year after figuring out that arguing all the time meant they liked each other, and they had never gone farther than this point. Luxa would not hear of doing anything else, having been raised in a traditional family and holding to all of their values.

"You know what would be funny?" he suggested, trying to get his mind off things he couldn't change before he went crazy.

"Hm?" Luxa barely moved, she was half asleep already.

"If Aurora and her girlfriend had 'skipped school' today too," there was an implication in his voice.

"Gregor!" The slender girl shot up and looked him straight in the eye. "You shouldn't speak of such crass things. Aurora has enough to worry about without you objectifying her relationship with her girlfriend."

"Okay, okay," Gregor raised his hands, protesting his innocence. "I just thought it would be ironic. I wasn't drooling over the idea or anything."

"Good. You had better not do such a thing," Luxa warned, the fire behind her violet eyes slowly guttering out as she sank back into his lap.

Then the boy realized something, "Hey, do you know who Aurora's dating?"

"No, I do not, and I will not discuss this further with you."

Gregor sighed, and leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes and fantasizing about Aurora and her hot mystery girlfriend, and a Luxa who was not so set in her ways.

-W..M..W—

The phone rang in Ares's apartment. After living there for a few days he had realized that his job, bank, friends, and everything else would need him to have a phone instead of just a jack in the wall. He had been giving out the number that led to the apartment, but it hadn't actually come with a phone. So he had scrounged together the cash to buy one, using up a decent chunk of his food allowance for the week.

It took him a few moments to realize the phone was actually in his apartment, and he had no clue who could possibly be calling him.

"Hello?" It came out a question.

"Ares, darling, I've not heard from you and I've been so worried," Ares stared at the phone in a mix of shock and a little bit of terror. The voice on the other end belonged to Nike's mother, Athena. "You practically dropped off the face of the earth after Nike moved you in. We've been worried sick about you. The phone number Nike had for your apartment never went through until just now. How are you? Have you started work yet?"

"Um, I'm fine," he replied, more than a little overwhelmed by the woman. "I start at the company tomorrow." He was definitely certain Nike wasn't as frantic as Athena made her out to be, since she would just drive over and drag him out of his apartment if he hadn't called often enough to suit her.

"You know, Ares," her voice had lowered to a smooth purr and the hairs on the back of Ares's neck prickled up to attention. "I've really missed you beind around the house."

"Ah, yeah, well I have to go, um…see my landlord about…my horrible phone connection. Look, there it goes, all crackling again, sorry, bye." He slammed the phone down on the receiver, breathing hard, utterly panic stricken.

In ten minutes he was desperately knocking on Bane's door. "What the hell?" He demanded, opening the door. "You look like shit."

"I know. Look, I'm sorry to ask you, but I really need some cash to buy mind bleach. You can have some too, against my better judgment." He was actively shaking.

"I thought you didn't drink," Bane recalled suspiciously.

"I don't, but the universe is sending some strong hints that I should start."

-W..M..W—

Aurora's crisp golden curls lay strewn across herself and the bed as if someone had spilled honey across the two girls. Her girlfriend purred happily and nestled her hip bone, reveling in the softness of her sun kissed skin. Aurora squealed and squirmed away from the older girl, "I'm ticklish!"

"More of a reason to do it," Pandora replied with a smirk. Her fingers traced up and down her girlfriend's ribs eliciting more squirms and high pitched giggles. Realizing that these threatened to alert the nosy neighbors of their presence when they were supposed to be in school, Pan quickly covered the girl's mouth with her hand and shushed her for good measure.

"See, you need to be more careful," Aurora scolded in a whisper when she was allowed to speak. "If we get caught my parents are going to end me. "

Pandora cackled at the thought. "Surprise," she said, with hand gestures to match. "Your perfect, mild mannered, cheerleader daughter is a lesbian. As an added bonus, she skipped school to screw her twenty year old girlfriend in your very own bed."

"Act now and this family trauma can be yours with six easy payments of childhood repression and overbearing perfectionism," Aurora finished with a wry tone. "And we're not screwing, we're making love."

"Ah, yes," Pan replied with a half roll of her eyes. She began to comb through Aurora's hair with her fingers. She had always envied the length and luster of the girl's hair, and they had met when she had jokingly requested a wig made out of it. "Because girls aren't capable of something as barbaric and insensitive as screwing, only guys can bring that aspect into a sexual relationship."

"Just so," was the only reply she received. The girl's eyes had drifted closed, melting in the feeling of Pandora playing with her hair.

"Have you still not told anyone about us?" The dark haired girl asked. Aurora shook her head slowly, side to side. The whole school knew she was dating someone, only a handful of people knew it was a girl. Pandora had preferred her identity to be kept under wraps since she was almost twenty, and therefore three and a half years older than her high school sophomore girlfriend. "Not even Luxa?"

She and Luxa had met since she was very good friends with Luxa's cousin Howard. "She thinks we're just friends," Aurora murmured, her lips barely moving around the words as she said them.

"How wonderfully oblivious," Pandora observed with a quiet smile. "Do you think we could convince her to…you know?"

Aurora laughed, "No way, Pan. Gregor can't even get to second base with her, we won't get her in bed. Not to mention, she's my friend. That would be so horribly awkward."

"What a pity."


	6. Community Bike

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **Community Bike

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference, awkward boners, and Twirltongue, who deserves a special rating all her own. I'm sorry for how long the wait was for this, but I'm still going for it! And I'm on summer break! I'm graduated now! Whoooo, fancy. So I'll have a lot of time to write this instead of working on my novel. Yes, I'm procrastinating writing my novel so I can write crackfic. That book is never being finished, haha. I'm also sorry that this chapter was so short, but I didn't want to fill it with useless crap, and it ended at a really good spot. I've outlined the whole story now, and it comes out to about thirty chapters(wow). Bear with me though, guys, because the ride should be damn fun. DAMN FUN I SAY! Btw, the new character in this chapter has been seen before. Have fun figuring it out. (and let me know if you do).

**Beta:** Microsoft Spell Check.

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W—

Ares groaned as quietly as he could and lightly thumped his forehead against the computer screen. Then, with a resigned sigh, scrolled further down the list of demo songs that he had to review. This was the Monday of his second week working for Deadlands Records, the alternative music label that had promised him the funds to finish his degree in exchange for three years working on the lower end of their company. His job, along with a few other people, was to sift through the hundreds of demos that were sent in, in hopes of discovering the band that would rule the airwaves for the next thirty seconds.

Since he was so low on the totem pole, what Ares really did was erase any songs that were recorded horribly, or sounded bad enough to make his ears bleed. Without his full degree he couldn't actually pull out the bad songs from the good ones, that was someone else's job. His real goal was to start going out and seeing bands in concert that had decent demos. What better job was there? All he had to do was go see shows and hang out with bands all the time.

"Ugh," he rubbed his temples. Until then he had to listen to whiny boys that thought they knew how to scream properly, and girl bands that thought sending in pictures of themselves decked out in 'punk' clothing would make their demo sound better than the cat wailing it really was.

The trick, he had discovered, was thinking about something else and allowing his subconscious to pick out the really terrible songs without having to really pay attention to how bad they were. The problem was that there wasn't much to think about except…Ares sighed, much softer than before. Bane, that naïve boy with the beautiful smile and his eyes that wanted you to promise everything and refused to give anything in return. He and Ares had been spending a lot of time together, and the longer they hung out, the more Ares had to remind himself that they were strictly friends, and nothing else.

Getting together with people you lived with was bad news, Ares knew from experience. As was getting together with friends, people more than two years younger than you, exes of friends, and…Actually had had never had a truly successful long term relationship. The closest he got was his girlfriend of almost seven months, and she had been having sex with his best friend for nearly half of that time. In truth, Ares was just afraid of ruining his friendship with Bane, since the only other person he was close to was a seventeen year old across the city. That, and his neighbor appeared to be as straight as can be, which meant almost certain rejection. Ares would be like one of these horrible screamo songs, deleted from memory before he got the first word out.

"You're so tense, darling," a silky voice whispered behind his ear. He could feel her warm breath kissing the side of his neck and he shivered with unconscious pleasure. Her hands were on his shoulders, rubbing gently, thumbs pressing into the muscles in his back. "You should relax."

Ares immediately blushed, realizing who was standing behind him, purring into his ear. He had met Twirltongue on his first day when his new manager had introduced her as the head of human resources. The woman was rather petite, but seemed to be made entirely of curves and smooth white skin. She had silvery blonde hair that looked quite long, but was pinned into a professional twist in the back, with just a few tiny waves falling down to frame her pale green eyes. Her charcoal jacket was tailored perfectly to her form, and her matching pencil skirt wrapped tightly around her thighs like the hands of a jealous lover. As she smiled her at Ares he noticed the light pink lace camisole she wore was just barely covering the curve of her cleavage, threatening to reveal everything if she bent so much as an inch. He could see why she was the head of human resources.

"If you have any questions or problems, please, don't hesitate to let me know," she had said, extending a delicate hand. In that moment he had seen her eyes flash with a brief predatory gleam, and he had swallowed nervously, hoping he had just imagined it.

The skillful working of Twirltongue's fingers and thumbs brought his thoughts back to the present. This probably shouldn't be happening, he realized, but wasn't sure how to disengage the woman without endangering his position. She was an immensely powerful lady…

"Well, Ares?" she murmured. She moved an impossible step closer to him, pressing her cheek against his head as she spoke. "Are they working you too hard, hm? I know this position is one of the least enjoyable, do you need to come to my office for a break?"

"Um, no, nothing like that," Ares said quickly, hoping that he could get her to move on by acting oblivious to her suggestion. "Really, I'm fine. I just need to get used to-"

All of his blood rushed to a central point in his body, and he felt like fire was being pumped by his heart. Twirltongue had paused in her shoulder rubbing to run her tongue along the ridge of his ear. Ares bit his lip to keep any inadvertent noise from escaping as a pleasurable shiver ran through him. Twirltongue laughed, quietly, like the sound of tiny chiming bells, and stood back.

"I'm glad to hear that. Here are the forms that you need to finish filling out, and the information that you requested," Twirltongue smirked at him and laid an envelope on his desk. "And remember, if they go too hard on you, just let me know. I'll help you unwind."

With that she was gone, along with the cloud of pheromones that seemed to follow her around, clogging the minds of everyone she was close to. Ares took a deep breath and tried to clear the fog from his head. He nearly choked when he realized that Twirltongue had gotten a rise out of him in the most literal of ways, and fled to the bathroom as inconspicuously as he could. As he stood in the last stall of the empty bathroom he did his best to relax. The attentions that the curvy blonde woman had lavished on him had reminded him just how long it had been since he'd been intimate with anyone. Not that Twirltongue was particularly intimate, he could see now that she was pure maneater through and through. That predatory gleam he had seen at their first meeting definitely hadn't been imaginary.

"Come on, Ares, get yourself together," he hissed to himself under his breath, closing his eyes and setting his forehead against the wall. "Mind over matter. Think unsexy thoughts. Simple."

Unfortunately, the person who dominated his thoughts recently couldn't be called unsexy, and it was even more difficult not to think about Bane in the aroused state he was in. Ares could practically see him laying out on the rooftop, shirt off, pale skin gleaming in the sunlight. His contented smile played on his lips, eyes beckoning Ares so welcomingly to join him.

This wasn't working. That damn woman had ruined all of the control he had been building up the past week. But then, he wondered, just what would be the harm of it all? He wasn't going to pursue Bane, so why not give in to Twirltongue? Obviously she didn't care a thing about him, but if he returned her advances, not only would he get the attention he craved, but she'd stop sexually harassing him in his cubicle where everyone could see. It would be over soon, he was sure, women like that rarely lingered, and he couldn't think he had anything particularly special to offer her.

"Just calm down," he told himself sharply. For some reason the idea just didn't appeal to him, he got a strange feeling from her that he could only describe as a 'bad vibe.' All the serious thoughts had distracted him just long enough for his…problem to go away. He straightened his shirt and ran a hand through his shaggy black hair. All he had to do was get out of here, finish the day, and then he could lock himself in his apartment until the next day. Ares braced himself and opened the door to the stall, and found himself awkwardly facing the back of another employee standing at the urinal.

He coughed and quickly looked away, striding toward the sink to wash his hands. Unfortunately for him, the other man had finished his business at about the same time and came to wash his hands in the sink next to Ares despite there being four other options.

"Hey," he said, giving Ares an overly friendly smile. The dark haired man flashed a quick smile and then stared at his hands, hoping the other got the hint. "So you're Miss Twirltongue's new target, eh?"

Ares nearly gagged on air, so unexpected was the comment. "I-uh…I don't know what you're talking about." There, that should keep him from continuing right?

"Oh, come on, your cubicle isn't exactly very private. She was coming on to you pretty strong," the guy smiled, about ten times creepier than the one before. He grabbed a few paper towels and lounged against the wall, just close enough to the door to make it difficult for Ares to get out without shoving him out of the way. "Twirltongue has been going after attractive young guys since before I started working here. You're the first one I've seen outwardly deny her too, that's dangerous you know."

"It is?" Ares found himself being interested in spite of how much he just wanted to leave. "Won't she just get tired of me?"

"She'll get tired of you after she's given you a few tours around the supply closet. All you're doing now is making the chase fun for her. But really, you should just go for it, it is completely worth it." the last was said with an air of patronizing fatherly wisdom.

"You speak like you've got experience with her," Ares observed. If this was true, then his regard for Twirltongue had dropped by about half. The man in front of him was probably in his mid forties, and his suit smelled like cat litter.

"Well, no, not really," the man conceded, then his eyes glittered with lust. "I've been holding out my hope for a while, though, and I know just about everything there is to know about her. I'd give just about anything for a chance at that choice piece, I swear. She could twirl her tongue all over me, if you get my meaning."

The lascivious wink completely put the whole thing over the edge for Ares, who bolted past the strange man, trying desperately to avoid touching him for even the briefest of moments. By the time he got back to his cubicle Ares couldn't wait to drown out the whole day with horrible screaming teenagers.


	7. The Bacon Incident

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **The Bacon Incident

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference, bacon, and horror sluts. In case none of you put two and two together, Twirltongue was the chick in the car that Bane threw his lighter at. Ares doesn't know because they were too far to really make out her face. Also, I have approximated that to finish this story before I get back to school I'll have to do 1k words a day, and I intend to try. I did NaNoWriMo, so this should be a breeze. As always, you guys' support is what keeps me going. You all freaking rock! All four of you.

**Beta:** YOUR MOTHER.

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W—

Ares came back to the apartment the same way every evening. He walked home from his office, after taking off the button up shirt that was his only concession to professionalism. A knife in his pocket was his only protection in case a feminine twenty-something looked like a good victim. When he got to the apartment, he'd keep his eyes fastened to the floor to avoid the terrifying being at the receptionist's desk, who he was now convinced had actually eaten the real receptionist and sacrificed her inner organs to Cthulu.

The elevator ride up was normally a solitary experience, where Ares might affectionately brush his fingers along the dents that Bane had left if he had a particularly rough day. It wasn't physically taxing in the slightest, but the monotony got to him after a while. It was Friday, finally, and Ares had a small smile on. Twirltongue hadn't bothered him since Monday, and he had been praying that she was going to forget about him, but that didn't stop the office gossip from running rampant. Most likely that creep from the restroom was to blame.

Despite his most logical objections to the idea, Ares was ready to spend a relaxed fun weekend with his neighbor. He hoped that Bane entertained the same plans, even though they hadn't spoken about it. Last weekend the white haired boy had shown up at his apartment completely unasked, and informed him that they would be spending the weekend together. It was odd behavior from someone Ares saw as generally being a loner, especially one who wasn't interested in him. He assumed that Bane was just grateful to have a friend in the building, just like Ares was.

Ares entered his apartment and threw himself onto the ratty couch he'd purchased from a thrift store with his first check. He expected Bane to come see him within the hour once he realized Ares was off work. The dark man was just too uncomfortable with the idea of calling on Bane himself.

After an hour had passed though he was beginning to run out of things to do to distract himself. He had fidgeted around, and then cleaned his kitchen top to bottom so he would look busy when Bane came over, but the knock on the door never came. Ares sighed.

"You're like a fifteen year old girl," he told himself scathingly. Bane probably had plans with friends from school or something, or maybe a girlfriend he hadn't mentioned, or any number of things that nondesperate young men did with their time. "I'll just take a shower."

When he emerged from his apartment he was wearing a midnight blue wife beater and dark jeans, his damp hair brushing his face. He wasn't sure what about the mixture of hot water and quiet solitude had convinced him, or given him this amount of confidence, but he was going to knock on Bane's door. As he neared he could hear loud guitar music playing in the room, and thought he could make out Bane's voice. He raised his hand to knock on the door when he felt _a presence_.

"He won't answer." Ares turned to his right where the young woman that Bane referred to as Creepy Stalker Girl had seemingly materialized. Her voice fit perfectly with her strange appearance, it was impossibly quiet and a little breathy.

She looked completely shocked that she had actually said something and turned to flee to the safety of her room when Ares grabbed her wrist. Realizing his mistake he immediately let go saying, "Sorry! But…what do you mean he won't answer? He's in there right?"

"Yeah," she replied softly, arms crossed protectively in front of her and looking down at her feet. "But he's in one of his moods."

Not questioning the accuracy of the information, or even the dubious means in which it was probably collected, Ares continued to press her, desperate for even the slightest shred of knowledge that would illuminate the enigma that was Bane. "What mood?"

"Sometimes he locks himself in his room and won't come out. I don't know exactly what he does in there," at this statement she looked even more uncomfortable, blushing profusely, and Ares guessed that she knew more than she was letting on. "Whatever it is, he won't leave, not for food or school. He wouldn't even respond when the super came to address a complaint about the noise in his room."

Her part said, the young woman refused to stay any longer and prolong her discomfort from direct human interaction. Ares allowed her to dart back to her apartment, and it wasn't until he went to knock on the door again that he realized the empty cigarette pack he had in his back pocket was gone. That girl was good. Ignoring this, and taking a deep breath, Ares rapped smartly on the door so he could be heard over the music.

-W..M..W-

Bane was sprawled on his bed, all of the pillows and blankets had been kicked off in irritation. His stereo was blasting, and he had one of his guitars clutched in his arms, fingers dancing on the frets along with the music. He silently added his own improvements to the song as it went along, sometimes deviating from the music for thirty seconds or more. His eyes were closed to the tiny rays of sunlight that trickled in through the single small window in the bedroom.

Noises occasionally drifted into the room from outside, but he just ignored them. He hadn't gone to school that day, having woken up in such a dazed unfeeling mood that he couldn't muster the will to get out of bed to turn off his alarm let alone get up and go to school. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't eaten either. He should probably do that, he realized lazily.

A knock at the door interrupted his lethargic reverie. He had just decided to ignore it, big surprise there, when the thought occurred to him that it might be Ares knocking. An arm lifted and turned the stereo dial behind his head so that he could hear a little better. Another knock followed the first, but still Bane didn't speak until he heard that familiar voice calling over the music.

"I know you're in there, you pale bastard, come out." A smirk twisted itself onto Bane's lips. He was pleased that Ares had actually come to get him, and was amused by the half insult. Most of all, to his surprise, he was glad that he had someone who cared enough to try and lure him out when he was at his low point. But he didn't intend to just prance out with no fight. He still didn't want to leave the bed, no amount of care or insults could change that.

"C'mon, Bane," Ares continued, sounding a bit less sure of himself than before. He didn't know what his plan was to get his friend out. Then an idea came to him and he grinned deviously. "Well, I was hoping that you'd be up to hanging out this weekend, seeing as I finally have a television and a bag full of rented horror movies."

It was really difficult to keep up blasé attitude when he had to project so loudly to be heard over the continuing music. Then, all of a sudden the music cut off, and there was a loud groan. Ares had calculated correctly. Bane _liked_ horror movies. Loved them just enough, in fact, to shuffle out of his bed and throw open the door just as Ares was about to leave. When the dark haired man turned around the greeting on his lips died. Bane leaned against the doorframe, clad only in a pair of black boxers, white hair ruffled from rolling around in bed all day, rubbing his eyes with a look that said 'this better be worth it.'

"I'll get some clothes on and be over in a second. Make food," he demanded imperiously, and then shut the door with slightly more force than was necessary. Ares was completely frozen in place by the living incarnation of half of the week's fantasies. Bane was toned and muscled to perfection, just like he had imagined, a good deal bulkier than Ares who was tall and lean from genetics. Snacks. Right. Ares licked his lips, Bane looked like dinner and dessert to him, but he managed to wrench himself from his spot and walk into his apartment to make popcorn.

-W..M..W-

The popcorn had finished popping and the movie was in the player, but Bane was nowhere to be found, and Ares was terrified. Had he stood him up? Did he only come out to make him go away? Or had Ares's thoughts shown on his face and Bane was disgusted with him now? A thousand possibilities flitted through his head, but his logical side bid him to go check on the white haired boy.

"Bane?" Ares called through the door, heard a muffled reply, and slowly opened it. "What happened?"

Red eyes looked up at him from the keyboard they had been focused on. He looked irritated, and then comprehension dawned on him, and Bane sprang up, tossing the keyboard onto the couch. "Sorry! I…kind of forgot that we had made plans."

"In three minutes?" His dark eyebrows arched skeptically.

"Actually, more like three seconds," Bane replied sheepishly. "I'd been meaning to record the song I'd thought of, but the keyboard was out here, and I was in the bedroom. So, when I saw it after getting dressed I got distracted."

Ares nodded, intrigued, and took this opportunity to glance around the dark apartment. Heavy drapes were across the windows as well as blinds, and all the furniture was dark as well. It was like a cave with splashes of red and sometimes the occasional deep purple. "Nice lair," he commented, then noticed the acoustic guitar leaning against a wall. Now that he was looking he realized that it was difficult to look in a direction without seeing something related to music. There was an enormous shelf of CDs, the keyboard, the acoustic, band posters everywhere, a drum machine, a synthesizer and even an old fashioned record player on a shelf. "How many orchestras practice here?"

Bane chuckled, and again looked kind of embarrassed. "Just me. I'm a little obsessed, I guess, but I need something to do with myself, you know?"

"You mean you play all of these?" Ares again looked a little doubtful, and tried to mentally tally the cost of all the equipment and instruments littered about the apartment as carelessly as dirty clothes. The number he came up with was impressive.

"Hell yeah," Bane grinned proudly, caressing his acoustic like one would a child. "Self taught, even. Delicious musical government checks."

"What?"

"You think I bought this shit myself?" Bane laughed loudly. "Didn't you even wonder why I was still in high school and living on my own? Or how I afford this place with no job? I'm not blowing the owner, I'll tell you that."

"Well, of course," Ares stumbled over his words, thrown off by the odd reference, but curious to have his questions answered. "I thought it would be rude to ask though…"

"And you're right," the other replied smartly. "It's incredibly rude."

With that he walked toward the door, a self righteous look on his face. Ares stood frozen in place, completely disbelieving what had just happened. Had he really come that close to answers only to be denied in such a fickle manner? Then Bane laughed again, he was in a really good mood for someone who had felt too bad to get out of bed earlier.

"Kidding. I'm a ward of the state, and I have been since I was seventeen. I've lived here since then, because I was judged capable of handling most of my own affairs. I get checks every month for living expenses, but since all I have to pay for is dirt cheap rent and food I buy instruments with the excess I save," Bane finished his explanation with a shrug, knowing that his answer would just open up a million more questions, but not wanting to answer any of them. "Now can we go watch people get killed or what?"

-W..M..W-

"Haha! Ares, the blond girl just got her face cut in half!" Bane exclaimed over the back of the couch, toward his friend in the kitchen. Ares cringed ever so slightly at the mental image. He had started out with a whole box of popcorn and was now on his second to last bag, because apparently the idiot on his couch had neglected to eat anything all day.

"I do so love your psychotic enjoyment of gore and death," Ares commented wryly as he waited for the microwave to finish. "You could be institutionalized."

"What, it's hilarious," he peered over the back of the couch, eyes glinting mischievously. "They're running around screaming, their boobs tripping them up, and they don't expect the serial killer to find them? Stupid bimbos deserve what they get. That's why they have her cheat on her boyfriend in the beginning of the movie so you don't feel bad for cheering on the killer."

"That may be so, but it's still kind of sick," the microwave beeped and he returned to the kitchen to get it, while Bane excitedly watched the man with a machete dispatch another token character. Ares sauntered over to the couch proclaiming, "More snacks!"

Bane grinned in anticipation of salty buttery goodness, then noticed how inviting Ares's lap looked. He grabbed a throw pillow and tossed it on the young man's lap, then sprawled across him, stealing the popcorn bowl as he did so. Ares, completely disarmed, blushed profusely.

"You're a stupid face," Bane remarked, poking him in the nose before dropping a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

"Why is that?" Ares demanded, trying to regain his composure.

Bane considered it for a moment and then pointed out, "Your face is red. Only stupids have red faces."

"Well your eyes are red," The dark man replied. "By your logic that means you're stupid too."

"Nuh-uh!" He retorted, looking offended. "I have no melanin in my eyes. It's a genetic disorder. Don't make fun of me for something I can't help!"

"Sorry," Ares said sheepishly. There were a lot of things he could have retorted with, but was afraid he had actually hurt his friend.

Bane shrugged, "That proves it. You didn't know that red eyes are because of a lack of melanin so you're stupid."

"Excuse me, I went to college for Music Theory and Management, not biological disorders of crazy pale kids," Ares snapped, pushing Bane playfully. "I revoke your lap privileges."

"Nooo!" he whined, wrapping his arms around Ares's thighs, and resisting any attempts to move him. "It's warm and comfy, and make me more popcorn!"

Ares rolled his eyes, and set down the popcorn bowl on Bane's face, pretending to eat it, while denying his friend any at all. Bane whimpered piteously, trying to blindly grab at the popcorn. Finally after several unsuccessful attempts he managed to grab a few pieces and shove them into his mouth, then he grabbed the bowl and sat up yelling, "I win! Make the Bane more popcorn, for he demands it!"

"Make it yourself," Ares shot back. "You're eating me out of house and home."

Bane pouted as he contemplated the now empty bowl. "I'm glad snacks are normally dietarily neutral substances."

Ares lounged back against the couch, "Did you expect me to eat carrot sticks and celery all the time?" Bane responded with a shrug, then looked up curiously.

"Do you miss it? Eating meat," he clarified. Ares rolled his eyes, always with the questions about his vegetarianism. The movie had long since ended, and had returned to the menu screen showing the villain swinging his machete threateningly and the heroine screaming in the background. "Aw, I missed the bloodbath climax."

"You're the one who didn't pay attention," Ares chastised him mockingly, twisting one of the longer strands of hair between his fingers. "And I don't really miss it at all. Every once in a while I'll have a craving for bacon, but I think everyone does that."

"That's not very koscher," the pale boy observed, then his face lit up. He stood so rapidly Ares half stood up too, thinking something was terribly wrong. "Out!"

"This is my house, did you forget?" Ares demanded of him, sitting back down hesitantly, almost certain he was going to be ousted from his seat once more.

Bane shook his head and put his hands on his hips. "I didn't forget but you need to get out. I'm going to surprise you, so leave."

"Is it a surprise if you just told me about it?" The question stopped Bane for the briefest of moments, but he ignored it. He grabbed Ares's arm and hoisted him off the couch. Ushering him to the door, Bane said, "Go take a smoke break or something. Just leave for fifteen minutes at least. Don't' come back before that."

-W..M..W-

Ares opened the door to his apartment with great hesitation, it had been opened a crack when he approached, and he gently pushed it open. The strong smell of breakfast food overwhelmed him as he entered. Bane was happily rushing about the kitchen, flipping pancakes and forking sizzling bacon onto a plate. The smell made his mouth water. He hadn't had dinner yet, unless you counted the handful of popcorn he'd managed to swipe from Bane.

"What are you doing?" Ares called to his friend.

"What does it look like?" Bane responded, sliding the last pancake out of the pan and turning off the oven. He began to make plates for the both of them. "I made you food. I can only make breakfast items, but you did say you wanted bacon."

Ares took his food and gladly ate the bare pancakes with his fingers, but he ignored the bacon no matter how tempting the smell was. "Thanks. I really don't mean to eat the bacon though. It was just a vague craving I have sometimes. I'm still going to stick to my principles."

"I made you foods and you won't eat them?" Bane pouted. He dispatched his meal with little hesitation, and stared at Ares with expectant puppy dog eyes. The man was hard pressed to deny those sad red orbs, but he still stood his ground. He happily devoured the pancakes, but set down the plate of bacon with a firm hand.

Bane smiled devilishly and began walking toward his friend. Ares was caught and held by the intensity of his gaze, and backed up until he hit the wall. Bane snatched up a strip, and reached to grab the dark haired man. He tore himself from the eyes of his friend long enough to realize what was about to happen and darted out of the way just as Bane pounced.

"Eat the bacon!" Bane yelled.

"I don't wanna!" protested Ares as he fled from the pork wielding boy.

"Be a man, damn you!"


	8. Innuendos and Panty Shots

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **Innuendos and Panty Shots

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference, horrible innuendos, and a skirt chasing Bane. I'm thinking of replacing the 'Beta' section with a 'Random Fact' section, or something. Or just removing it entirely. Idk. Sorry this chapter was a bit late, but it's longish and I was without internet for a while so I couldn't put it up. You guys'll be pleased to know that this chapter marks the changing point in the story. This is where the intro and character development chapters stop and the plot seriously starts. Have fun. Btw: I apologize if the writing isn't up to its normal quality, there's a character introduced that I'm not used to writing. Will get better, I promise!

**Beta:** Monkey with a typewriter.

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W—

The girl who walked into the apartment lobby was quite unlike the other tenants. She was young, with chestnut brown waves of hair pouring over her shoulders, her bangs framing shy blue eyes. Her steps were slightly faltering, though the set of her shoulders showed that she was trying to seem confident, even though this was the last place in the world she wanted to be. The receptionist gazed at her, completely uninterested, as the girl dropped off the forms and contracts needed to rent on the desk.

"Twitchtip?" the ambiguously gendered receptionist grunted, looking the new tenant up and down. The girl nodded, biting her lip subconsciously, certain that something was going to go wrong even though she had filled everything out impeccably. "Here's the keys. Room 313."

The receptionist dropped her eyes back to the magazine in her lap, forgetting the young girl's existence completely. Unsure what to do next, Twitchtip shifted from side to side for a brief moment, then strode toward the elevator. Her things would be brought by in a half hour or so, and she wanted to see her new apartment before everything arrived. The dents in the elevator wall caught her interest briefly, and she sighed, reminding herself that she was rooming in probably the dingiest complexes on this side of the city. Oh well, that's what the pepper spray was for.

A despondent ring from the elevator told her she had arrived on her floor, and as she stepped out, she began scanning the numbers on the doors. As she neared 308 she realized that a young woman was crouching by the door, a recording device in her hand. So intent was the mousy girl on her spying that she didn't notice Twitchtip's approach until she was merely feet away. Immediately she bolted down the hallway, dashing into her own apartment and shutting the door.

Twitchtip was stunned by the reaction and looked at the apartment the girl had been lurking by. The door of 308 was opened just a crack. Battling her own insatiable curiosity, Twitchtip neared the door. She had fully intended to close it and leave the residents to their privacy, but then she heard muffled speech drift through the open door and it stopped her cold.

"Just open your mouth and put it in, I promise it's good," the voice belonged to a young man, it was low and had a slight amused tone in its velvety purr. "I know you want it, you're practically drooling."

Twitchtip flushed, immediately jumping to conclusions about what she had heard. She meant to turn right then and there, leaving the inhabitants to whatever they were doing, but found she couldn't move. What if something bad was going on, she rationalized. The man began talking again, and Twitchtip found she didn't need much more convincing.

"Come on, just get the tip in, there you go," there was another sound that might have been the reply of the other person in the room. It seemed that they couldn't talk for one reason or another. "See? I told you you'd like it. Now put the whole thing in."

Twitchtip leaned in a little closer, making sure to keep out of the crack in the door, resting her hands against it to help keep her balance. A few more commands floated from the room, each one making her blush a little bit more, a few making her shiver.

Finally the man said, "Now swallow. There, that wasn't so bad was it?" The sound of coughing accompanied his words, and Twitchtip realized this was her cue to leave and hopefully forget all about the incident. She couldn't imagine what had come over her, and in her haste to get to her own apartment she pushed against the door, forgetting that it was open. It swung forward, and she stumbled into the living room.

Ares and Bane looked up, Bane had the dark haired man in a headlock, a few spare pieces of bacon in his other hand in case Ares spat out the one he'd forced him to eat. Ares stared at the young woman who had just fallen into his apartment, unsure how one was supposed to react to such a situation. Twitchtip jumped up and stammered out an apology, "I'm so sorry! I was just, um, walking by…and there was a girl, and-sorry!"

Completely mortified, she turned, her intention being to flee from the horribly embarrassing situation. Bane, acting on impulse, leapt up and grabbed the girl's wrist. "Wait a second!" When she turned back to him, clear blue eyes shining from withheld tears, something in the pale boy melted. "Um…I haven't seen you before. Are you new?"

He dropped her wrist, and tried for a reassuring smile that just turned out sheepish and a little scared. Ares stood up, not sure whether he liked the turn of events, especially when he saw Bane's reaction to the young woman.

"I'm Twitchtip," was all the brunette could manage, still looking for a way out of the situation. The one who had grabbed her wrist was the same person she had heard through the door, but he seemed nice enough. She was moving into a strange apartment where she didn't know anyone, she reminded herself, and if these people proved to be decent and not serial killers like she half thought, perhaps her stay would be less miserable than she expected.

"Ares," the dark haired man introduced himself, holding a hand out to shake. He had strode up to stand beside Bane, far more comfortable with these kinds of social interactions than the other young man. "And this is Bane. I promise we're not as crazy as we look."

"Or sound," Bane added, having surmised the girl was listening to their exchange outside the door. "What brings you to this corner of hell?"

"I'm going to go to the school nearby," Twitchtip replied, briefly taking Ares's hand. "Bartholomew of Sandwich High School, I think it was called. Something weird like that."

"BS High School?" His red eyes sparked at his good luck. "That's my school, we can go together in the morning, if you want."

"If you even go," Ares observed cynically. He looked Twitchtip up and down, noting the soft curves under her blouse and jeans. She had a naïve look to her, but in the depths of her blue eyes he could see the marks of a hard life. The girl was attractive and interesting, and Ares wouldn't be surprised if Bane's attendance shot up with such a tantalizing incentive at his school.

Twitchtip nodded her agreement, not trusting herself to speak after such a nerve wracking few minutes. Her pocket vibrated, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled out her cell phone. The two men didn't seem bad at all, and she was certain that she could handle everything once she got the mental images out of her mind from when she had been eavesdropping. "Sorry, my things are here, I have to go open my apartment and move in."

Bane looked like he was ready to volunteer his assistance, but Ares shot him a look, and Twitchtip left after giving him a grateful smile. Ares sighed when he noticed his friend watching the girl go down the hallway. This wasn't going to end well.

-W..M..W—

That weekend Twitchtip moved in, managing to dodge Ares and Bane most of the time, not because she didn't want to see them, but because she was nervous and didn't know how to deal with them. She had never been the most popular person; she'd been bullied and pushed around most of her school career. Boys rarely paid much attention to her, opting for girls who weren't so timid and odd. So when the two people she'd just met showed so much interest in her she was completely unprepared.

Bane spent most of his time either in his room or with Ares, but couldn't help letting his thoughts drift back to the pretty girl who had literally fallen into his life. He felt that it had to have happened for a reason. After all, Ares had come into his life in a similarly abrupt fashion, and had quickly become his best friend. Why not feel the same about Twitchtip?

For once in his life Ares actually found himself looking forward to work. He much preferred the whines of wannabe boy bands and the taunting of Twirltongue to the company he had this weekend. True, he enjoyed spending so much time with Bane, but he hated knowing that whenever the boy became lost in thought Twitchtip was the cause. Most likely it was just a passing fancy, and would die out soon, or so Ares hoped.

-W..M..W—

Monday morning dawned clear and crisp with the first hints of chill October in the wind. Bane woke up to a knock on his door. It was the second time he could remember it happening, which was a bit too often for him. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he opened the door. It was when he saw Twitchtip at the door that he briefly wondered if he was wearing any clothes.

Thankfully for Twitchtip, he was clad in shorts. She on the other hand was wearing a pleated plaid skirt and light blue blouse that rested on her shoulders. Her auburn curls shined and bounced around her shoulders when she moved. "Well?" she asked, spreading her arms to exhibit herself and doing a small spin. "What do you think?"

"Wow," Bane observed, stifling a yawn. She gave him a disbelieving look, and he took her hand, pulling her across the hall. He knocked on Ares's door, certain the man would be up at this hour. "If you don't believe me, let's ask the emo kid."

Ares had just finished straightening his hair when he was called to the door. "What are you doing awake?" he asked Bane so surprised he didn't even linger on the boy's exposed chest.

Bane just smiled and pulled Twitchtip into view. "She cleans up pretty good, doesn't she?" he commented. "Little extensive for BS, but I think she gets an 'A' for effort, don't you?"

"You look really nice, Twitchtip," the dark haired man had to admit that the young girl was quite pretty, in a strange catholic school girl kind of way. "You've got legs that would make a super model jealous."

Unused to the attention, Twitchtip blushed, and shrugged off their compliments. "I wanted to look nice for my first day of high school." The comment made both the men do a double take.

"How old are you, again?" Bane asked.

"Nineteen," she replied. Although she didn't normally divulge her private life so easily to people, Twitchtip felt that she owed them something after having fallen into Ares's living room because she was eavesdropping on them. "I was homeschooled after middle school."

Bane nodded, thankful the answer had cleared up the many strange questions. He didn't press her further, however, well aware that there were some parts of people's lives that they wanted to keep to themselves. "Well you'll look better than anyone else in that hell hole. Gimme a few and I'll ride with you. Trust me, you don't want to be alone in that place."

Ares wished the two a good day at school and went back inside to finish getting ready for work. Maybe Twirltongue had the flu and couldn't make it.

-W..M..W—

Twitchtip had been separated from Bane early on, much to his dismay, because of their differing class schedules. When it came time for locker break she fumbled with the metal lock, not having the hang of it yet.

"Need help?" The boy in the locker to her left asked. He had short brown hair and chocolate colored eyes, and a few visible scars, but he smiled with genuine warmth.

"Please," she answered, moving away to let hip open the locker. She handed him the slip that had her combination on it, and watched carefully as he twisted the lock. It clicked open after a few seconds and she gave him a grateful smile.

Bane had been on his way to meet her, having skipped his own locker break to find hers halfway across the school. He growled as he saw Gregor chatting animatedly with her. He walked up, and leaned against the wall of lockers waiting for Twitchtip to close her locker and notice him.

"I'm Gregor," the boy introduced himself. "I'm a sophomore. I'm guessing this is your first day?"

Twitchtip nodded, introducing herself as well. "Thanks for helping me, I thought I'd have to go without the books for next class."

"No problem," he smiled at the girl. His eyes darted to Bane who seemed about to combust with the flames of jealousy, and then back to Twitchtip. "Look, if you need any help, just ask. And stay away from Ratriff."

"Ahem. Gregor," A slender girl with short silver hair stood tapping her foot. She gave Twitchtip a suspicious look, and leveled an imperious gaze on her boyfriend. "It is time to go to class now. Please tear yourself away from your new friend and accompany me."

Luxa turned and stalked off. Gregor gave Twitchtip an apologetic smile and followed her. The brunette shrugged and closed her locker just as the bell rang for the next class. Afraid that she would be late, she hurried off. Bane, trying to catch her shoulder and failing, fell hard on the linoleum floor. Twitchtip didn't notice, and didn't even look back. His only condolence was that he had gotten a fantastic view up her skirt.

-W..M..W—

Twitchtip managed to elude him most of the day, save for the few classes they had together. In all his classes he had been distant, his thoughts elsewhere. This resulted in him being so quiet and compliant that many of his teachers wondered if the pale boy was ill, or if a robot had replaced the normally sullen and aggressive boy and where they could get more of them.

Bane shuffled through his locker, gathering the necessary items to go home, and hoping that the bell rang quickly. At least on the bus ride home he and Twitchtip would be able to be within two feet of each other without someone coming to distract her while Bane watched in impotent fury. As far as he was concerned Twitchtip was his discovery and everyone else who figured out she was a witty attractive young girl needed to respect that he got there first. In fact, it was the frustration that the girl was getting any attention at all that didn't come from him that made him so attentive to her in the first place. Sure, he would have been interested in her if no one else was, but because she was garnering interest from other parties he felt the need to steal her away.

He scowled, and vaguely wondered if she had been thinking about him at all today or if she had been too distracted with the rabies ridden petting zoo that was called a high school. Bane couldn't remember being more fascinated by a girl before, and chalked it up to the fact that she was essentially an enigma to him being female and also not sharing much from her past beyond being homeschooled. For once there was someone who was actually more secretive than he was, which was unfortunate because he couldn't out mystique her which was generally his way of attracting girls. That and lifting heavy objects. But the girls had to be kind of drunk.

"Lost in thought?" The pale boy turned to see Nerissa standing by him, a moody look on her face. "Strange, normally you are only interested in your next meal and infuriating my cousin."

Bane gave her a quizzical look, uncertain what she was talking about. The girl seemed to be in a strange mood, her violet eyes gleaming with an anger he had never seen before. "Just have a lot to think about, Nissa."

"Oh, yes, I am certain that your skirt chasing takes up a great deal of your considerable brain power," her words were biting and full of sarcasm. "But do not stop daydreaming on my account, just pretend I am invisible, like you always do."

The young man looked at her like she had grown three heads, he had never heard her sound like this. "Are you taking about Twitchtip?" That was all he could guess she meant by skirt chasing.

"Yes, I am, so kind of you to notice," Nerissa's voice began to rise, drawing the attention of nearby students. "This girl appears out of nowhere and you follow her around like a love sick puppy, leaving me in the lurch. She does not know you exist and I have been your only friend here. How can you be so blind and ignorant? Did you not even consider my feelings?"

"Nissa, I don't know what you're talking about, honest," Bane protested, raising his hands in front of him to defend against her harsh words. They were both surprised when Twitchtip came up, bag in hand, and smiled at Bane.

"Are we riding home together?" She asked, oblivious to the confrontation that had just occurred.

"Nevermind," Nerissa spat, and turned on her heel, stalking away down the hall.

"Did I interrupt something?" Twitchtip asked, concerned. Bane just patted her on the shoulder.

"Maybe, I don't really know," he ushered her away, eager to be out of view of curious stares. "How was the first day of high school?"

"Very good," she responded with a smile. "Everyone was much nicer to me than I thought they would be."

Bane laughed quietly and looked the beautiful girl up and down. "Yeah, don't get used to it. It's the miniskirt. Definitely the miniskirt."


	9. Super Happy Filler Time GO! No 2

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **Super Happy Filler Time GO! (No. 2: Time Lapse Edition)

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference, language, severe teen angst, adolescent witchcraft and 1337 speak. Yep. There's another one of them. Have you ever seen a movie where they have a montage of different little clips to show the passage of time? Of course you have, it's a lazy cheap trick and it's one that I'm about to employ. Instead of just saying 'time passes' I'm going to give you guys little scenes to clue you in on what's going on while time passes. Disclaimer: I'm not making fun of paganism etc, but I am making fun of certain people who practice it.

**Beta: **The Violent Femmes

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W—

Ares and Bane sat down across from each other in the internet café closest to their house. Both were armed with laptops whose volume was turned up just loud enough to be heard by everyone but not loud enough to make it obvious what they were doing.

You have entered Anonymous Chat Room 14.

ares. flies. high. (a) deadlands. net has entered the chatroom.

t3hb4n3 (a) theunderland. com has entered the chatroom.

ares. flies .high: I can't believe you talked me into doing this.

T3hb4n3: y r U such a n00b?

ares. flies .high: I beg your pardon?

T3hb4n3: u bing |4m3. 5r5|y.

ares. flies .high: There is no way I'm going this if you're going to be spasming on your keyboard like a dyslexic rodent the whole time. What are you doing?

T3hb4n3: its c4||3d 1337 spk. G3t w/pr0gr4m.

ares. flies .high: I'm going to kill you.

T3hb4n3: ur ju5t jelly nubcake. My 1337 po\/\/3r5 4r3 t00 much 2 h4nd|3.

ares. flies .high: I should have known not to let you near a computer.

T3hb4n3: u w1|| 5ubm17 2 my ov3rwh3|m1ng p0w3r5! P\/\/nZW0r5!

thisisnothoward (a) theunderland. com has entered the chatroom.

Thisisnothoward: is this the gay single's chatroom?

ares. flies .high: …-facepalm-

T3hb4n3: wtf haxx0rz

Bane burst into hysterical laughter in the middle of the shop. All the other occupants turned to glare at him, already pushed to their limits by the loud 'ping!'s coming from the two young men's laptops.

-W..M..W—

"Okay, guys, that was really good," the lead singer brushed his long black hair out of his face and turned to grin at his friends and band mates. "I think we should go with that song as our demo."

"Are you sure, Hazard?" the small mousy bassist questioned. He was the newest addition to the band and was the most nervous about sending off their demo to the record company they hoped would recognize their talent.

The drummer, the oldest and most experienced of the four of them, tossed her long red hair over one shoulder. "Don't worry Newton. That's our most dynamic song; it has the best chance of being picked. Dead Lands Records will rocket Hazard and the Halflanders into stardom."

Purvox was fifteen, a year older than the rest of them, and every other band member nursed a secret crush on her. She was well aware of this, and ignored it because despite her skills no other band would accept a girl drummer.

"Thanks Pur," Hazard's lime green eyes sparkled and he flashed another reassuring smile at his friends. "Okay, Newt, turn on the recording equipment and we'll tape our final cut. Pur, count us off."

"_Running through a maze of eyes_

_Poisoned flowers in a jungle of lies_

_She's ready to pounce, restless and cruel_

_Jungle of lies, gonna eat you"_

The garage door opened, and Hazard's heart plummeted as the tall slender woman stuck her head out. When she spoke he knew their demo was completely ruined. "Hazard, could you pleassse play more quietly? The housssse isss ssshaking."

"You screw up everything!" Hazard snarled, throwing the microphone onto the ground, and rounded on Frill. "You can't tell me to be quiet, you're not even my real mother!"

He pushed the startled woman into the house, slamming the door furiously. His father's wife and he had gotten along very well when he was younger but the older he got the more strained their relationship had become. He returned to his friends, breathing heavily, face flushed with embarrassment. Purvox patted him on the back and gave him a sympathetic smile, her home life was just as bad if not worse.

"Dude," the guitarist, spoke up for the first time. "At least your step mom's hot."

"That's it, you're out of the band."

-W..M..W—

"Look, all I'm saying is 'Never Have I Ever' is bullshit," Bane said, looking back and forth between Ares and Twitchtip to see if one of them would object. It was the dark haired man who bit the bait.

"Why is that, then?" he asked on behalf of Twitchtip who looked embarrassed for having suggested it. The three of them were lounging around Ares's apartment; Bane sprawled across the floor ridden mattress that had been pulled into the living room, the other two sitting on couch cushions. It was nearing one in the morning but no one showed any signs of weakening and going to bed.

"One, we don't have any alcohol so it won't be any fun," the pale boy eyed Ares accusingly, since he refused to furnish drinks. "But really, someone says they've never done anything then people drink if they have. Big deal. You don't get to know what the person did, and you can say lame things like 'Never have I ever done a cartwheel' or something."

"You can't do a cartwheel?" Twitchtip scoffed. "Pathetic."

"Look, just 'cause you're some bionic gymnast-martial artist protégé, doesn't mean you can look down on me because I'm not made of rubber," Bane snapped at her. Ares sighed, the two got along well most of the time but they also loved to antagonize each other. For the brunette it was just funny to get Bane riled up, but for the socially inept Bane it was like a young boy pulling the pigtails of his crush to get her attention.

"What do you propose then, Bane?" Ares prompted in order to distract the arguing teenagers. Some days he felt like a babysitter.

Bane thought briefly, then smirked. "We go in a circle starting with youngest and ask a question. The other two answer it and explain if asked. If the questioner can top the other two stories they tell theirs. Whoever has the most outrageous story wins the round, then it goes to the next person."

"What's the goal?" Twitchtip asked, fishing around in a chips bag for the crumbs.

Bane shrugged and laughed a little. "Does there have to be one? Here's my question: Where's the craziest place you've ever done it?"

Ares rolled his eyes, "You mean sex? We're all adults here. I think we can handle the word."

He'd spoken a bit too soon though, because Twitchtip flushed. "I don't have a craziest place," she said shortly.

"What all are we counting, completed acts or anything past making out?" Ares asked, trying to keep Bane from pouncing on that bit of information.

"Anything past making out," the white haired boy clarified, and turned to Twitchtip. "So, your answer is like a bed or something?"

"No, I don't have a place, because I haven't done it!" she snapped. Then she looked away and down, her long bangs covering her face. She fully expected to be mocked but Bane just looked at her like he'd never seen anything like her before. He hadn't even considered that possibility before and it just elevated her status in his mind higher than it had ever been before. "Ares, tell your story."

"A lecture hall. It was back when I was in college and it was empty, but there was no lock on the door. The teacher's assistant went down on me," he bit his lip, unsure how it would be taken.

"Did you at least get extra credit?" Twitchtip laughed.

Bane sneered. "Extra credit or no, I have you beat by a mile. I went all the way in an elevator. An occupied elevator at that. This woman and I were half drunk and headed to her room, but these two girls in the elevator couldn't wait. They pushed the emergency stop button and started getting busy, and I figured they had the best idea. It was like dinner and a show."

Ares shook his head in disbelief, but somehow knew that his friend was telling the truth. See, he told himself, this should be counted in the reasons it's a bad idea to have a crush on him. He looked toward the reason with long auburn hair, and could tell she disapproved.

Twitchtip stood up, "Had I know I'd be in the company of a couple of complete degenerates, I wouldn't have come over."

She made as if to go to the door and leave, but the two boys called her back and convinced her to keep playing. The night was full of surprises, entertainment, and even a little bit of let down. Twitchtip asked about the time they'd been the drunkest and they all laughed as Ares told them how he'd been so disoriented he'd gotten into Athena's bed instead of his own, and Bane's decree that no alcohol in the world could get him that drunk. Ares had his hopes crushed entirely when he slyly asked how far they'd gone with the opposite sex and Twitchtip won over Bane with the kiss she'd been dared to share with her old friend. He stayed quiet even though his many escapades could have won hands down. With Bane denying that he would even kiss a boy for anything less than a million dollars and a vintage guitar, Ares lost a lot of his heart for the game.

-W..M..W—

A single candle flame wavered in the center of the circle of people. Incense burned on a plate next to the candle, a knife and goblet sat ready and waiting for ceremonial use. Nerissa sat at the top point of the star that the five people formed. One of the men sitting to her side turned to her.

"Nerissa, you were the one who requested this coven meeting, will you tell us why we have convened on this night?"

She was a highly respected member of the coven, although there were only five of them and the oldest was twenty. They regarded her as having second sight and were excited to see what she had in mind. Nerissa drew out a picture of a young woman with long auburn waves and razored bangs that framed her face. "This is the reason."

The youngest girl squealed excitedly and almost broke the pentagram formation, "Ooh, do we get to curse somebody?"

The young man looked at the picture quizzically, he had expected something far different from this. He had hoped Nerissa was going to share an important vision with them. If she truly did wish to level a curse on this young woman it would be highly disappointing. He quieted the fourteen year old girl with a look and gestured for Nerissa to further explain herself.

"A bad luck charm, or one for restless nights. Something must be done about this girl, I could not care what it is," Nerissa said, an odd amount of venom in her voice. Those of the coven who knew her personally exchanged concerned looks.

"What has she done to you?" the woman sitting on the fire point of the star asked thinking Nerissa had been hurt in some way. If so then perhaps it was their place to even the scales.

Nerissa sat in quiet thought for a moment, then spoke, "She has maliciously stolen that which was dear to me." Those few words settled the issue for the rest of the coven, even though the young man was hesitant, they proceeded with cursing Twitchtip to lose her hair as penitence for what she had done.

A few days later, Nerissa was observing the young woman whose shining tresses were as thick and beautiful as always. As Twitchtip walked past the pale silver haired girl tweaked a hair on the other girl's head, trying to see if it was at least a little bit loose.

"Ouch!" Twitchtip exclaimed, turning to glare at the diminutive seer. "What was that for?"

Nerissa looked side to side like she was searching for an escape then shrugged and looked away, denying that anything had happened. "An accident."

"I do not think so," Twitchtip replied. She had noticed the girl lurking around her, and knew the hostile feelings she harbored. Now seemed to be a good time to deal with them. "I think that you're upset with me for hanging out with Bane. I don't know why that's made me your rival, but let me tell you something. I can be cordial and friendly, but don't mistake that for weakness. I can break you in half."

Nerissa stood, shocked at the hostility the normally quiet girl displayed. Twitchtip just flipped her hair, and began to walk away, smiling and waving at Nerissa as if they were the dearest friends in the world.

-W..M..W—

You have entered Private Chat Room 26.

ares. flies. high (a) deadlands. net has entered the chatroom.

t3hb4n3 (a) theunderland. com has entered the chatroom.

ares. flies .high: There, now no one else should be able to get in.

T3hb4n3: good. Can't b leave u made me stop speaking 1337.

ares. flies .high: Nevermind that. Where did you get the laptop?

T3hb4n3: I rented it. I was excited u got 1 from work.

ares. flies .high: You checked out a laptop just so we could do this?

T3hb4n3: u bet. I've been wanting 2 do this for ever. EVER, Ares.

ares. flies .high: Can you explain this whole escapade to me again?

T3hb4n3: basically I just hate ppl who go 2 internet cafes. Ooh look at me I'm typing in public so I must b important. I'm just refreshing my Codebook page over and over again but I could b writin a novel. Oooh fancy coffee cuz I'm cool.

ares. flies .high: You have serious problems.

T3hb4n3: ur rite. Less type, more ping!

T3hb4n3: ping!

T3hb4n3: ping! mthrfckr! Ping!

ares. flies .high: -sigh-

At this last ping one of the customers stood up, slamming his empty coffee cup on the table. "That's it! I can't take this shit anymore!" He stormed out of the café, along with a few other people who realized that leaving was an option. The manager of the store, watching half the customers leave, put a stern look on his face and headed over to the two boys, one of whom was snickering like a hyena.

"I can't believe you got me kicked out of my favorite coffee shop," Ares fumed as the two of them stood outside, laptops in hand.

"Why did you go to your favorite when the plan was to get kicked out?" Bane asked.

"You never told me the plan! You just said instant message with the volume turned up!"

"I wanted to see how many hipsters I could take in a fight," Bane replied with a shrug. "But since none of them resorted to violence, I'll chalk this up as a win anyway. Hey, where are you going?"

Ares had started to walk toward the bus stop, and he called over his shoulder. "Back to my apartment to forget you exist." Then he laughed quietly, like he could ever do that.

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Aria:** FFN is such a royal bitch about symbols and crap that the chat room part looks really weird now. Sorry about that. Also, please let me know if you'd like to see another coffee shop mayhem section in a future filler chapter or if you'd prefer another edition of the never have i ever game. And suggestions for questions. Or you can tell me if you think they're bull and you want real filler. (haha real filler.) Love you guys!

EDIT: Sorry! Blanks fixed now! I'm so embarrassed, lol.


	10. Double Trouble with a Side of Shi

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **Double Trouble with a Side of Shi-

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference, foul language, and bodily fluids of the grossest kind(okay, they're all pretty gross). Quick updates ftw, eh? I think I've finally got Twitchtip's character right where I want it. I even figured out how to translate her being a scent seer into this AU, which is pretty cool. Okay, so, quick question: Would you prefer to have an update at a certain day of the week or for me to update as soon as I finish the chapter? Without further ado, I present you with: Angst. I mean White Lies. (same difference.)

**Beta:** Zombie Vampires from Outer Space (With tentacles)

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W—

Halloween day dawned crisp and clear with more than a little bite in the wind. Bane had no idea how it was outside because he was tangled in a mess of sweat soaked sheets, trying desperately to fight off the demons in his fever fueled dreams. It had started at three in the morning, he had almost missed the toilet and vomited all over the bathroom. Even though he was deep in his delusional nightmares Bane woke with a violent shudder and fled to the bathroom again. There was nothing left in his system to expel and he just writhed and heaved against the toilet. Finally his body stopped its convulsions and he slipped to the floor. The cold tiles felt good on his sweat soaked skin and he was completely exhausted. His eyes drifted closed as he curled up on the bathroom floor looking like a two week old corpse.

This was how Twitchtip found him after he failed to answer the urgent knocks on his door. Terrified that something had happened to him, she knelt and felt his pulse. His neck was hot but the river of blood beneath the surface continued to pump, albeit a little quick for comforts sake. "Bane, wake up," she urged, shaking him gently and then roughly when he didn't respond.

He twitched and shivered slightly, the heat of his fever giving way for the clammy internal frost that accompanied it. The cold woke him up as he instinctively reached for his blankets and found Twitchtip instead. "Twitch?" his voice was quiet and wavering. He struggled to sit up, leaning against the wall to stare at her like she was one of his fever dreams. "Why're you here?"

"Because, you idiot, the three of us were going to the HorrorFest but you look like you're on death's door," Twitchtip explained. She sounded irritated but the tender touch on Bane's forehead belied her less than kind tone. "Come on, let's get you back in bed, huh?"

The smile he gave her was more genuine than any expression she'd seen on him since they first met. He looked like a small child that had just been given a present after weeks of neglect. With Twitchtip's help Bane stumbled back to his bed and collapsed on it, swaddling himself in blankets immediately. The girl complained about it the whole time, but under her gruff exterior he could sense a genuine concern. After all, she'd gone through all this trouble to come find him when he didn't show up at Ares's apartment.

"Ares?" he asked quietly, wondering where his friend was.

She laughed a little bit, "Probably waiting for me to come back and tell him why you were late. He said he'd gather the tickets and the snacks we're sneaking in while I came to get you. I don't think you're up to going out tonight though, huh?" Bane shook his head weakly, looking indescribably disappointed. The HorrorFest was his idea, three of the best horror flicks of all time back to back on Halloween night, he'd been looking forward to it for months and had splurged on tickets for it the second they went on sale. He muttered something about food poisoning along with a stream of swear words.

"Food poisoning doesn't give you a fever like this," Twitchtip said, wishing she had a thermometer to check just how high it was. It didn't seem dangerous, but she wasn't a nurse and really couldn't be sure. "Probably a twenty four hour bug."

She stood and immediately went to wash her hands, then called out that she would be right back. Bane put his head under the pillows and pretended he was at the HorrorFest in the middle of _Brains or Blood: Zombies vs. Vampires_.

When Twitchtip came back she was wielding a bowl of soup and an incredibly worried Ares. He immediately came into Bane's room and checked his temperature, back of the hand on forehead. Then he proceeded to fluff pillows, tuck blankets and tidy up the room that had been completely demolished by something resembling a hurricane. Bane almost liked the attention but decided that it was annoying to have Ares fretting like an old nursemaid, and he hated people touching his things. He was too weak to protest though, and eagerly took the soup from Twitchtip.

"Slowly, or you'll just toss it back up," she warned, then watched Ares bustle around the apartment trying to do anything to help the sick boy. It was almost cute. Twitchtip rolled her eyes at the thought and went back to assisting Bane eat. "You're really pathetic, you know."

The word jarred the white haired boy to his core. He hated the word pathetic, especially when it was applied to him. _'How pathetic,'_ a voice from his past echoed disdainfully in his head, '_it must be your mother's fault you turned out to be a useless piece of shit.'_ Bane scowled, pushing the bowl away, suddenly full of cold rage. "You don't have to be here, I don't need you to help me do everything. And stop messing with my shit," this last comment was directed at Ares who immediately dropped the pillow he was fluffing for the fourth time.

"Wow, someone's grateful," Twitchtip immediately flared in response to the angry tone.

"Why should I be grateful, I was doing fine myself," Bane snapped back, sitting up somewhat bolstered by his anger. "Look, you obviously don't want to be here, and I really don't need your fucking pity, so leave. Get out!"

Ares's face fell, despite his attempts to hide his hurt. Twitchtip on the other hand was rallying to the fight, seeming to have no qualms arguing with a sick person. "Why are you being such an ass all of a sudden? A few minutes ago you could barely put a spoon in your mouth and now you want the only two people who give a shit about you to leave you to wallow in your own misery. Fine, I don't care if you die of dehydration on your bathroom floor." With that she stood and stalked out of the room.

The dark haired man made to follow behind, but stopped and drew a glass of water for Bane who was still simmering in his bed. He set the cup down next to the sick boy and gave him a nervous smile, then wished him well and left. A red eyed glare followed him out the door, but Ares told himself that his friend would be back to normal when he was better.

Out in the hall Twitchtip still looked furious. She very rarely put herself out there for anyone and she hated that Bane threw it back in her face like that, and she was frustrated that she had even allowed herself to care that much. Let the pasty bastard rot in there for all she cared, but when Ares gently closed the door behind him and shook his head indulgently, her anger softened slightly.

"Now what?" Ares asked, looking at the girl and realizing this was the first time they'd been alone with each other. She thought for a moment, having assumed that they would just return to their own apartments. That wasn't right though, she decided, it was Halloween when evil spirits ran rampant in the streets and she couldn't stay cooped up in her apartment studying all night.

"Well, the tickets _are_ already paid for," Twitchtip observed, pulling her long hair into a messy updo. "I say we go enjoy the HorrorFest. It's not really my thing, but it's fitting for tonight, I think."

"Together?" Ares asked, surprised. Neither of them had ever actually sought out each others' company, Bane was normally the connection they shared, but he had just kicked them out the door.

"Well, aren't we friends?" the girl didn't realize she had said that until the words were already gone. Friends was a good thing to say, she found, but wasn't sure whether or not Ares fit that title.

He laughed and nodded, shrugging the back full of smugglable goodies back over his shoulder and pulling out the tickets. "We are, and we might as well enjoy our night. Bane'll sleep through the whole thing and be a lot nicer when we get back. And, hey, I need more female friends years younger than me."

"You have a lot of those?" Twitchtip looked curious, she hadn't ever seen anyone in Ares's apartment and hadn't heard a word about a girlfriend.

"Too many," Ares lamented as they left the apartment to get on the bus. "I've known Nike for a long time. I met her throught a…guy friend that I had in college. Through her I also know Pandora, and the two of them are both younger than me by a couple of years. Full of trouble, too. Then, of course there are all the girls from college that used to call themselves my friends but were never there when I needed them. At least Nike lent me a couch when I needed it. But, I'm rambling. Sorry."

Twitchtip just laughed and shook her head, then checked the bus map. Fifteen minutes until their stop, she observed. She spent the time listening to Ares regale her with the tale of he and Pandora's meeting which had involved a fifth of whiskey, pool toys and strip poker.

-W..M..W—

Ares and Twitchtip exited the move theater that had hosted the HorrorFest somewhere around one in the morning. They strode to an all night diner, desperate for sustenance since their smuggled snacks had run out somewhere in the second movie and they hadn't had time to catch dinner because of the emergency with Bane. Ares ordered coffee and Twitchtip sipped at ice water as they stared quietly at each other.

The movies had been quite enjoyable, although the fun was dampened slightly without Bane there to ooh and aaah at the spurts of blood, brains, and other bodily fluids that smeared the screen. There had even been a point where Twitchtip and Ares jumped at the same cheap scare and turned to each other, both hoping to seek comfort for their pounding hearts. They'd laughed and drawn disapproving stares from their neighbors who were all the type of horror buffs who demanded respect for the 'art.'

But now that they were alone together and responsible for making the conversation things got slightly strained. Ares seemed to only be able to think of things that would be inappropriate conversation and Twitchtip wasn't the most sociable of people on her best days. Finally she voiced something that had been bothering her for a while. "Why do you wear eyeliner?"

Ares's black eyebrow arched curiously, "Because I like to, and I think it looks good."

"And the dark clothes with chains and rivets, the piercings, the crazy hair? You just like looking like that?" Twitchtip wasn't sure the answer she was looking for, but she thought there must be another reason. "Doesn't your job not like that? Poorly representing the company and all?"

"I don't exactly work for a gospel label," he laughed. "I wear nicer clothes to work, but they don't really care about a couple non facial piercings and the fact that I spike the back of my hair and straighten the front. They care more about the work I do, and since I'm not really seen by the public it doesn't matter. I started dressing like this when I was young because it made me comfortable, and it tells people a lot about who I am without having to say much."

"I never thought about it that much," the girl observed as the grumpy night shift waitress gave them their food.

Ares nodded, observing that more of his order was wrong than right, but decided to ignore it. "Why do you wear the clothes that you do?"

The girl just shrugged, "I go to thrift stores and get whatever looks good on me and hasn't been too worn out. I've got a few clothes my parents bought me when I was younger. Always figured it didn't matter what I wore as long as I was warm."

"You talk about clothes like a guy," Ares observed, thinking about Nike who gladly fueled his fashion consciousness. To her you could arrive late to just about anything as long as you looked good, and she would readily endure a bit of discomfort as long as she got to wear the shoes she wanted. But then, she was the girl who insisted she was a princess in a past life. More like a warrior princess, Ares had always thought.

"And you talk about them like a girl," Twitchtip responded sarcastically. She smiled anyway though, and vaguely wondered if she should be more conscientious about what she wore or if it would be too much trouble.

The dark haired man just shrugged it off. "What was the name of that last movie? I want to rent all three so Bane can watch them later since he had to miss the fest."

"Aw, that's kind of sweet," the girl smiled. "The last one was _Ratpocalypse._ Why're you so concerned about him anyway, huh? He treated both of us like shit today, and from what I've seen and heard about he causes you a lot of trouble."

"Yeah, he's a piece of work," Ares replied. He had eaten all he had the stomach for and was now pushing his food around on his plate, making little designs with it. "But he can be really nice sometimes, and he shakes things up whenever life gets boring. He was the first person I met when I moved and since then we've kind of been inseparable. You just have to avoid him when he's in his moods like this."

"And I thought women were supposed to be the moody ones," Twitchtip huffed. She nodded when the waitress asked if they'd like the check. A yawn split her pretty features, she wasn't used to staying up this late unlike the insomniac across from her. "It's nice to have you two as friends though. I thought I'd be lonely, the only high school student in an apartment."

"Between you and Bane that shit hole's going to get a reputation for teenagers instead of crack dealers," he replied with a quiet laugh, then picked up the solitary check that the surly woman had dropped on the table. It included both his and Twitchtip's meal on the tab. "I love how people assume that a man and a woman eating together means they're a couple. My treat, it seems."

Twitchtip scowled, "No way, she put us together?"

"We didn't tell her not to, I guess."

"I'll pay my way," she insisted, grabbing for the check to see how much she owed her friend.

"Don't worry about it," he dismissed, pulling the slip of paper out of her reach. "I said my treat and I meant it. I'm the one with a job."

They walked out of the small diner, leaving it with only two other customers. Luckily the bus pulled up to the stop just as they neared it. Ares was glad he didn't have to call a cab so they didn't have to wait. His companion seemed dead on her feet as it was nearing two thirty. Twitchtip pulled her hair out of its updo and tossed it over one shoulder, then turned to stare out the window of the bus. She was busy reformulating her opinion of Ares who had been somewhat of an enigma to her before, and still halfway was.

"Why _do _you live in the apartments?" Ares asked. He knew Bane's reasons, or thought he had the gist of them, but the slender girl had been quiet on the whole issue. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. I don't want to butt into your privacy."

Twitchtip just shrugged a little, as if it didn't matter, even though for her it was kind of a big deal. For a moment she sorted things into 'to tell' and 'not to tell' categories in her mind, then turned and spoke. "I was homeschooled for my freshman and sophomore year, but managed to complete the requirements for the third year of high school as well by the time I was fifteen. Then my parents kicked me out of the house. I stayed with a friend of the family for a little while, but eventually she said she couldn't take care of me anymore either because I couldn't land a job. I stayed at a homeless shelter for a while, and the only reason I'm at the apartments at all is because of government aid."

The bus dinged and their stop flashed on the screen at the front. Ares stood and helped Twitchtip to her feet, he squeezed her shoulder gently to convey his sympathy, but felt that her sadness deserved a bit of respectful silence. On the elevator ride up Twitchtip turned to look at him and said quietly, "I just want you to know that I wouldn't tell that kind of thing to just anyone," then there was fire in her eyes and steel in her voice. "So you better not make me regret it."

As she walked toward her own apartment, Bane came stumbling out of his unit and caught sight of his two friends returning. He had been heading to Ares's place to apologize for his behavior earlier, having just woken up from his intense sleep, fever finally broken.

The meaning of Twitchtip's words sunk deep into Ares at that moment, just as her door closed behind her. 'Just anyone' huh? Shit. Then he looked up into Bane's face which had turned red and it wasn't from the sickness.

"You two went out together."

It wasn't a question. As Bane stalked back into his room, Ares buried his face in his hands, collapsing tiredly against the wall and sliding down to sit on the floor. _Double shit._


	11. Bros Before Hoes

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **Bros Before Hoes

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference, language, more panty jokes, and conniving. Sorry this took so long, I've been lazy. So, thanks to the _overwhelming_ response to my question last chapter I'm going to start updating once a week on a certain day. I'm going to try for Sunday, which obviously didn't happen this time, but still. Btw, when did Smashing Pumpkins get good? I used to dislike them, but I spent almost half the chapter listening to them. Btw, if you ever wanted a soundtrack for this story I'd try She Wants Revenge's album This is Forever. Their songs practically wrote this story. Ja ne!

**Beta:** A horrific chocolate milk sugar buzz.

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W—

Unfortunately for Ares, despite the fact that his personal drama had turned his life upside down, he still had to go to work on Monday. Early on it wasn't so terrible, he was getting used to trawling through horrible songs for the few that might have promise. It was monotonous, but he found that if he concentrated on it the work went fast and he could distract himself from everything that had happened so suddenly. He knew that he had to think about it at some point, but he meant to avoid it as long as possible.

Caught up in his work, Ares didn't notice the slender woman's approach until it was too late. Twirltongue brushed her perfectly manicured nails along the back of the dark man's neck, making goose bumps rise all over his skin. He took his headphones off to turn and look at her. For a brief second he welcomed the further distraction, then he saw the predatory gleam in her eyes and realized that she intended to make more trouble for him.

Twirltongue bent forward, ostensibly so she could be more on Ares's level, but he suspected she was just trying to display the creamy gentle curves that threatened to overwhelm her tight blouse. The first two buttons were undone, and he could catch glimpses of red lace when she breathed in. He felt his body reacting without his say, and hoped she didn't notice his discomfort or the excited flush of his skin.

"Good afternoon," she said with a smile. If she did notice she didn't make any mention of it. "How was your weekend?"

"Stressful and hectic," Ares replied honestly, meeting her pale green eyes with his own. He thought he read sympathy, but couldn't be sure.

"Tell you what," she purred in her honey sweet voice. One hand came up to toy with a long strand of Ares's hair. "Why don't you come have drinks with me sometime and I'll make sure you have a good time."

The offer was almost tempting, but Ares had an easy excuse at hand to fend off her advances. "I don't drink, sorry." Then he tore his dark eyes away from her, signaling that the conversation was done. He didn't expect her to give up so easily, but was surprised when she just pouted.

"What a pity," she stood and brushed the blond ringlets away from her face. Then she handed him a manila envelope, the kind they used to keep documents in. "This is for you, by the way. It's urgent, so you should read it at your earliest convenience. Maybe next time, Ares darling."

Then she gave the smallest of waves and began to walk away. Curious why he would have an urgent document delivered to him, Ares tore open the seal. He peaked in and saw a pair of skimpy red lace panties. The style matched the small snatches of bra that he'd been able to see when Twirltongue had bent over. Which meant…

Immediately he turned around to watch her walk away. The pencil skirt she was wearing was tight and clung to her form, with a dangerously high slit in the back that could reveal everything in the right position. Ares could see every curve in her body as she walked away, hips swaying hypnotically and couldn't tear his eyes away until she looked over her shoulder and smirked at him, then turned a corner.

Ares fitfully ran his hands through his black hair. He wasn't sure how much of this he could take. With a sigh he stood up and walked to the bathroom to splash his face with cold water, something he'd learned to do after his third encounter with Twirltongue. He had a feeling this was going to be a long week.

-W..M..W—

"Why the hell did you wait so long to call me?" Nike sounded angry on the other side of the phone, her voice raised so much that Ares had to hold the phone away from his ear.

"Sorry, I thought if you minded you'd call me," Ares replied in a consolatory tone. That was partially true, the rest of it was that he had been so busy with everything going on that he really hadn't thought about it. Or if he did, he forgot quickly.

"Lazy ass," she snapped, then took a deep calming breath. "So are you settled in okay?"

"Yeah, actually the apartment looks pretty good now that I've invested some money in furniture and stuff. I still need an actual bed, but just a mattress is working out fine right now."

Nike snickered, "I guess that means I can assume you're not getting any."

Ares rolled his eyes, "You know I mean to focus on career right now. I need to get my feet under me before I try and get in a relationship."

"Psshk, yeah, because you're not the kind of person to jump head first into anything," her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Besides I wasn't talking about a legit relationship, I'm talking sex."

"I can't believe I'm talking about this with a seventeen year old girl," the man said with a sigh, thumping his head despondently against the wall. "I don't like meaningless sex, Nike, you know that. If I wanted it I could have it, but I don't. Which seems to have disappointed your mother."

His last statement was said quietly, barely above a whisper, but she still heard. "What about my mom?"

"She um…called me. A while back. She was…kind of scary, actually. I feigned phone problems to get rid of her," Ares admitted a bit shamefully. He was embarrassed that she had been able to get to him so easily.

"Are you freaking kidding me," Nike growled. Then he heard her take the phone away from her mouth and yell. "Moooooom, what the _hell?_"

"Hey," Ares interrupted before she could get in a full on argument with her mother while on the phone with him. "Why don't you come over and hang out for a bit? I could use the company…and some advice."

"Be there in twenty."

-W..M..W—

Ares met Nike down at the front desk to escort her up into his apartment 'in case the cockroaches think you look good to eat' he had told her. She had pulled back her striped black and white hair into a ponytail and had done a flirty cat eye with black liner. Both of them wore sweaters to keep away the cold that seemed to be able to find its way in through every crack in the building.

"So what's the emergency?" Nike asked curiously while they rode the elevator.

"What, there has to be an emergency for me to want to see my friend?" Ares acted offended, then shrugged. "It's not really an emergency per se."

"Did you screw something up?" she probed, an eyebrow perked up in curiousity.

He squirmed uncomfortably for a moment, not sure how to answer then finally conceded, "Maybe…"

Nike laughed and gave him a playful slap on the cheek with her leather gloves. "Then it's an emergency. I swear you cause trouble like no one else can."

As they walked out, Ares was about to argue with her but caught sight of Bane standing by his door. The pale boy looked up as they exited and strode toward his friend happily.

"Ares," he called, no trace of his anger from the previous night. "I knocked on your door but you didn't answer. Are you just now getting home from work?"

"No, I've been home for a bit, I had to escort her upstairs," Ares gestured at the girl next to him. "Nike, this is Bane. Bane, my friend Nike. I stayed with her before I moved here, and this is the first time she's been to visit."

"Oh," he looked disappointed, and cast a glance at Nike that could have been anger or jealousy. Then he flipped his shaggy white hair out of his eyes. "I'll see you later then."

With a vague wave he was gone, walking back to his door. Nike whistled appreciatively and winked at Ares, "He's _pretty_. You tried getting him on your mattress yet?"

Ares almost choked at how direct she was and looked away. "Come on," he urged, grabbing her hand and guiding her to his apartment. "I'll fill you in on it."

"So, is he gay too, or is it just you?" Nike prodded as she dropped onto the couch and flashed Ares a knowing smirk. The dark haired man just sighed and headed to the kitchen to make drinks for the both of them.

"I wish you'd quit trying to label me, Nike. I'm just Ares, I like who I like," he replied quietly.

"And you like the boy with the swishy hips out there. What's the problem then?" She took the drink Ares gave her and set it down untouched. She was intrigued by how serious he was being and how sad the look in his eyes was. "Don't you just tell him you like him, you date, you screw, happily ever after, you may kiss the bride?"

"It's never that simple, Nike," Ares told her, sitting down as well and slumping into the cushions dejectedly. "It wouldn't work between the two of us. He's not my type and I'm definitely not his. He's four years younger than me, and he likes this girl who just moved in to the apartment a few doors down. Not to mention he's so straight that he makes rulers look crooked. If you listen to him tell it, he's slept with more girls than Pandora has."

"I doubt that," Nike said with a laugh. "I also doubt he's completely inflexible. I mean, guys can be effeminate without being interested in the same sex, but he's really pushing it. Not to mention how mad he was that you were hanging out with a girl. But from what you're saying it just sounds like unfortunate circumstances. Where did it get so complicated that you had to call me in for damage control?"

"Twitchtip," he sighed. "She's the girl that he likes, and last night he saw the two of us come in together and assumed the worst. He was livid, and to make matters worse she said something that indicated she might like me.

"Do you have any popcorn, babe?" Nike asked. "Cuz you sound like you're in the middle of a romantic comedy."

"Not helping."

The girl rolled her eyes and ruffled Ares's black hair, ruining it in a way that made wind jealous. "What do expect me to do? Wave a magic wand?

"Just advice, Nike, I'm helpless with this stuff, you know," his dark eyes pleaded with her, and his bottom lip was slowly becoming a pout.

Nike stretched out and set her legs across her friend's lap. "First, I suggest you avoid all future contact with my mom."

"You don't have to tell me twice." She shushed him.

"Second, you need to figure out your priorities. What do you want out of the situation?" Ares just shifted back and forth, unable to answer that question. "You need to figure out if you want a relationship with this guy or just want a fun night, or if you need to pursue something else. The biggest problem is that you won't know how he feels unless you ask him. No tricks, no subtlety. Leave that to the girls, you have to come straight out and tell him how you feel or forever hold your piece. If you won't do that I suggest you find someone else to fixate on."

Ares groaned and put his head in his hands. "This sucks."

"No one ever said it was gonna be easy, Ares," she said, petting him gently on the head. "This girl, Twitchtip, she cute?"

"Why?"

"Because, if you want to get the albino's attention," Nike grinned deviously. "That's who I'd go for if I were you."

-W..M..W—

They spent the rest of Nike's visit catching up on each other's lives and watching horrible reality shows just so they could mock the rest of humanity. Ares felt a sense of relief after talking with his friend, even though she hadn't given him any definite answers. It just felt good to get it all off his chest. She happily told him about Pandora and her new girlfriend, and mentioned that she'd seen Henry walking around in the arms of yet another gorgeous but brainless girl. He happily told her all the ways he wanted to kill Henry, inspired by the horror movies he'd been watching recently.

Around nine o' clock Nike checked the time and leapt to her feet. "Wow, I didn't think I'd stay here this long, my mom's going to give me an earful for not telling her where I was going."

"The fearless, independent Nike, afraid to upset her mother," Ares mocked as he gathered the refuse of their dinner. "I'm surprised at you."

"You're one to talk, Ares. Have they fixed your phone line yet?" The girl sneered at him and began pulling on her gloves. "Oh, wait, you faked a dropped call because you couldn't deal with her on the phone. Honestly though, I can't say I'm that surprised."

Ares just rolled his eyes and ushered her out the door, "You've overstayed your welcome, princess."

"I wouldn't have come over if you weren't so pathetic when it came to relationships," she informed him haughtily.

"That reminds me," he said. "There's this woman at work that keeps sexually harassing me. Any clue how to make her stop?"

The girl smirked, "I'll let you figure that one out on your own. Wouldn't want your life to get too boring without me here to keep you company."

She patted him affectionately on the cheek and then waved goodbye as she left. Ares shook his head, he'd missed her a lot, but he was glad they weren't living together anymore. When she was out of sight he walked across the hall and rapped on Bane's door. He could hear the boy playing music, and it continued for a while before Bane decided to see who was at the door.

"Sorry!" the pale boy said the moment he opened the door and saw Ares standing there. "I wanted to tell you as soon as you got home, but that…girl was there. Sorry about last night. I didn't mean to get so mad at you."

Ares waved him off, a little surprised by how earnestly those bright red eyes look at him. "It's no big deal, no one's perfect. You were sick, and it was late. It's totally understandable."

"Thanks!" The boy grinned at him, and his face nearly gleamed with happiness.

"Anyway, guess what I got you?"

Bane's eyes lit up, "Present?"

"Well, not exactly a present, we have to return them," Ares said, smiling in spite of himself at how excited his friend was. "I went and rented _Ratpocalypse, Zombies vs. Vampires, _and _Wrench 8. _So now we can watch them together even though you were sick during HorrorFest."

"You are my new god," Bane murmured in awe, eyes wide and mouth open. "Thank you, Ares!"

Then he did something he'd never done before. Bane flung his arms wide and pulled Ares to him in a bear hug. Ares practically melted, then felt a pang of regret. He had finally come to terms with the fact that this wasn't a passing fancy or a crush. Seeing Bane so happy just because of something he had done overwhelmed him. He wished he could see that smiling face every day of his life, and for a second he let himself fantasize waking up to those beautiful red eyes, rimmed with white lashes, that soft voice. Then he remembered the look on Bane's face when he had seen Twitchtip with Ares, and the fantasy shattered. It was a delusion, nothing more.

"Come on, let's go watch people die," Ares said, his voice raw with emotion. Bane didn't notice and followed him happily.

"Yaaay, dying people are my favorite!"

-W..M..W—

"What's the date today, Ares?" Bane asked offhandedly. He was sitting upside down on the couch, his white hair brushing the floor, knees hooked over the back of the couch.

Ares was switching movies, and having a hard time of it because all the lights were off except for a few candles to make the mood spooky. Not romantic, spooky. "It's November first, why?"

"No reason," Bane said elusively, flipping right side up before all the blood rushed to his head.

The dark haired man stood up and put his hands on the couch on either side of Bane's head. "I seriously doubt that. You can't even keep up with what day of the week it is, why do you need the date?"

"I was just curious," he protested, grabbing Ares's wrists and flinging him onto the couch. Then he grinned with a sudden idea. "If you can pin me, I'll tell you."

"I don't need to know that much," Ares laughed, remembering that these kinds of physical games always made him end up in awkward positions.

"To bad," Bane smirked, and jumped at him, knocking him off the side of the couch and onto the floor. Ares tried to shove him off, but only managed to free his top half from the clutches of his opponent. Bane pulled at the older man's legs. His grip loosened, though, and Ares managed to jerk away at the last moment.

"This is completely ridiculous," Ares breathed before launching a counter attack of his own. He jumped at Bane and shoved his shoulders down onto the ground. The boy was stronger than him though, and he realized he wouldn't win with just brute strength. A smirk spread across his face and he started to tickle Bane around the ribs and stomach.

"Ah…Ares s-stop," Bane cried out, laughing to the point of almost tears. "Pleeeeaaaase!"

"Do you surrender?" Ares demanded, not letting up.

"N-no, never!" The boy gritted his teeth, trying to resist laughing. His opponent merely tickled him harder until finally Bane gasped out, "Okay, okay, I give up."

Ares jumped up victoriously and went back to sit on the couch, looking over the back of it at the boy struggling to get back to his feet. Bane held his stomach and took deep breaths, then leaned across the back of the couch to look at Ares.

"November the fifth is my nineteenth birthday," he said quietly, looking away as he spoke like he expected to be chastised about it. Ares's eyes widened in surprise, he hadn't even thought about birthdays since his and Nike's were both in the summer.

"What do you want? For your birthday, I mean," he asked. A few days wasn't very long to come up with something and he wasn't sure he had any money to get the boy anything.

"Don't worry about it, I don't want anything," Bane muttered, slowly turning red. "Birthdays aren't that big a deal to me."

"Well now you're my friend and I want to make it a big deal," Ares grinned at him and tapped his arm gently with a fist. "Cmon, it won't kill you."

"I don't know what I want, no one's ever really celebrated my birthday before," the boy admitted, looking ashamed for some reason.

"What? Why not?" Ares demanded without thinking about how secretive his friend was about all the parts of his past.

"I don't really want to talk about it," Bane replied, rubbing the back of his neck and biting his lip. Ares felt sorry for making him so uncomfortable and reached up to ruffle his hair, marveling at its softness.

"Well, I'm going to give you an awesome birthday, okay? Is there anyone you want to invite?" he asked, already drawing up plans in his head. Cake, presents, celebrations…maybe he'd even be the cool guy and get some mind altering liquid that Bane seemed so fond of.

"Besides Twitch? Not really," the pale boy said with a shrug. There wasn't anyone at school he was overly friendly with except maybe Nerissa but she hadn't been talking to him recently for some reason. Girls were weird.

Ares was shaken by the mention of the girl that had been on his mind for so long. This was the perfect lead in to figure it all out. Well, not perfect, but it would work. Finally he asked, "…what do you think about Twitchtip?"

Immediately Bane clammed up, "I don't know what you mean." The look on his face denied this though, and he blushed all the way to the roots of his white hair.

"Yes you do, you looked like you were going to kill me last night," Ares insisted. "We're friends, you can tell me about it. I mean, you don't have to but you seem a little stressed by the whole situation."

"I…she's amazing, I guess. I've never met a girl that acts like her," Bane's eyes had a fond look in them, and Ares could practically feel the wistfulness in his voice. He would have just taken those statements as his answer and been sad enough, but Bane continued. He seemed happy to be able to talk about it all. "It's not that difficult to go through the motions of getting a girl to sleep with me, but that's not what I want from her. And for some reason when I talk to her the stupidest shit comes out of my mouth and she probably hates me after Sunday, but…"

The young man finally stopped, realizing how much of himself he had bared with just a few sentences. As embarrassed as he was he still looked to Ares hopefully, like he had answers. Ares was the last person to ask for relationship advice in the first place, and he was having a few issues himself with trying to keep his emotions from showing up on his face. This was it. Bane liked Twitchtip, and apparently there was some kind of self realization or epiphany or something mixed up in it as well. If Bane had said she was 'the one' Ares wouldn't have been surprised at that point, and it wouldn't have made this any less painful. He had prepared for this though, and he would be damned to hell if he was going to be anything less than supportive to his friend. Friend. That's all.

"Ares?" Bane started quietly.

"Bane, if you want to-" Ares spoke at the same time but was cut off.

"Wait, let me first, okay? I think…I think that you two might um…I mean…if you want to date her, then you can. It's okay with me, and I'll still be your friend," he breathed deep, convincing himself as well as Ares. Then he grinned, trying to put a funny spin on such a serious topic. "Bros before hoes and all that shit. She's too smart to like me, anyway."

"I think she'd be smarter if she realized what a catch you were," the dark man said softly, thinking about what the brunette had told him when they had come back from the movies. He didn't even stop to think about how compromising the sentence had been, but Bane, ever oblivious to the subtleties in language, didn't seem to pick up on the meaning.

"Nah. I'm an asshole to the girls I date, or so they tell me," he laughed and rubbed his knuckles on Ares's head. The man flinched and slapped his hand away. Bane just smirked. "Flattery isn't going to make me stop stealing your cigarettes, you know."

"Get out of my house," Ares snarled, pointing at the door.

"I'm not leaving until we finish the movies," Bane declared, leaping over the back of the couch and spreading out like he owned it. "Get me snacks, bitch."


	12. Cake Booze and Chinese Food

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **Cake, Booze and Chinese Food

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference, venues, debauchery, and depression. Okay, sad chapter this time, just warning you guys. Also, if the story started sucking or something let me know so I can change it or fix it. Writing this fast might have a decrease in quality, but I'm starting to get paranoid that I screwed something up in the past few chapters or something. (Ps. Thanks for the review Prophe, I luff you!)

**Beta:**

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W—

Bane couldn't see anything. A black scarf had been tied across his eyes the moment the trio had left the apartment. Someone, he guessed it was Twitchtip, had even put their hands over his ears so he couldn't hear the subway system announcing the stops. At one point he got a vast amount of entertainment out of a security guard stopping Ares and Twitchtip and asking them why they were leading around a blindfolded young man. He had thought he would get answers then, but apparently whoever spoke with the inquisitive man whispered to him.

"You okay, son?" the guard asked. For a second Bane considered screaming in terror or blurting some story about his child being held hostage and sacrificed by Satanists. Then he wouldn't get to see the surprise though, and if there was one thing he had learned by being around Ares it was that he absolutely loved surprises.

Finally he grinned and said, "Just fine, sir."

It was the first time he could remember being so polite to someone in a position of authority. He chalked it up to being so excited. Twitchtip and Ares stood on either side of him, walking him down the street like executioners leading a prisoner to the chopping block. Bane tried to identify his location by the sounds around him, but he was completely at a loss.

"Are we there yet?" Finally his patience was starting to wear thin, this was getting boring.

"Shut up," that was Twitchtip, he identified.

"Where are we going?"

"Shut up," she repeated, this time giving him a flick on the head for good measure.

He stuck out his tongue in the general direction of her voice. "How much longer?"

"Shut up!" she snapped at him, but he could tell she was amused. He was about to ask another question and see if he could pester a laugh out of her but she squeezed the arm she was holding. "Hey, listen!"

"Shut up, Navi!" he replied automatically, but did tilt his head to the side, listening like a dog for the slightest sound. He could hear a few warm up guitar chords drifting in the air behind the general murmur of people around him. There were more and more people the more they walked, it seemed, because his friends were pressing up against him and it was getting more difficult to walk with the blindfold on. Finally Ares reached up and untied it, putting his hand under Bane's chin to angle his face up.

When the blindfold was removed he was staring at a sign above the building they were standing in front of. The glowing red words told him he was at 'Firelands' a small but very busy venue. The marquee told him that a band called 'The Stingers' was playing and he could hear them warming up inside. He turned to smile at Ares who was looking at him expectantly.

"Well?" Ares asked, a hand on his hip. He gestured broadly at the front of the building with the other hand. "What do you think?"

"How did you know I liked them? And how'd you get tickets?" Bane questioned.

"I pulled a few strings at work," he replied as if it was nothing. Actually he probably owed his soul to a few of the men he worked with. As he spoke he guided the boy toward the entrance to the venue. "And I saw you had their poster on the wall of your room. You have good taste by the way, never heard of them before that but they're good."

"Creeper," Bane accused, but was smiling broadly. He had to struggle not to leap on the man right now and smother him with his happiness. That probably wasn't acceptable in public though, wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. Instead he just pulled his two friends close.

"Hey, Mareth," Ares greeted the large stern looking man standing guard to make sure no one snuck into the venue without a ticket. "Good to see you, how's the wife?"

"Perdita is strong willed and beautiful as always," the man replied, standing by to let them inside. "And you?"

"Still alive," the dark eyed man replied with a smile and waved goodbye.

"Do you know everyone?" Twitchtip asked curiously as she looked back at the tall darkly handsome man.

Ares laughed, "No, not really. I wasn't always the shut in I am now, when I was younger I was out practically every night. You get to know the people who work at clubs and such like that. Mareth is an old friend, he's been kicking me out of places I wasn't supposed to be since I was sixteen."

"You are obscenely old," Bane informed him as they stepped into the main room of the venue. It was like stepping into hell, and he was almost shocked for a moment.

Twitchtip, who had never been in a place like this was very surprised. Flames seemed to dance around the stage where the band was warming up. Everything was red, orange or black. The ceiling looked like cracked volcanic rock that was going to fall down on them at any second and the walls were artfully smudged to look scorched. Everyone around them was dressed in some bizarre fashion or the other. Twitchtip had worried that her own dark outfit and rings of makeup (she had copied Ares since she was unsure how to dress) would look out of place, but she was one of the more subdued people.

Bane's mouth fairly dropped off his head as a young girl sauntered by. The skirt she was wearing was so skimpy it was barely more than a ruffle across her backside, and her lime green thong showed purposely above the skirt, and a single bend would reveal all of her secrets. Her eyes brazenly raked up and down the two boys before she entered the arms of a man who appeared to be her boyfriend.

"What kind of place is this?" Twitchtip said with a note of distaste in her voice.

"My kind of place," the birthday boy replied with a grin, behind him as if on cue the band started up with a heavy baseline and screaming guitar.

"You're easily distracted," Ares observed when Bane's eyes were caught by another girl dressed in far less than she should have been. The boy watched her dance for a few moments before turning back to his friend.

"Maybe, but I'm just looking tonight. I'm serious when I say Twitchtip has changed me," Bane looked his dark haired companion in the eyes when he said this, and Ares whole heartedly believed him. He gave a weak smile and scanned the room for anyone who he might be able to dance with since it seemed like his friends would be busy tonight. A few people caught his eye, but he couldn't bring himself to approach anyone and settled for watching Bane enjoy the music.

The songs the band played alternated between heavy and aggressive to haunting and beautiful. The whole red tinged room of people seemed to move as a crowd of one and the melodies caught all three of them. Even Twitchtip came out of her shell and danced a little bit, boldly asking Ares if he would mind dancing with her, but he claimed exhaustion. To his surprise she didn't leave to find another partner, but followed him to the bar where he got an overly priced soft drink in lieu of alcohol. As they shared the drink Twitchtip made small talk about the people at school and asked him about work. Finally, getting uncomfortable with how much like a first date this felt, Ares suggested they join Bane on the dance floor.

That was the only uncomfortable moment of the night, however, and they left the venue worn out and sore footed, but ready to continue with Bane's birthday party.

-W..M..W—

When they got back home, all three went to Ares's apartment where they ordered obscene amounts of Chinese food. Ares paid the tired looking teenager who delivered the food, regretfully handing over the last few bills in his wallet. It was going to be tight next week till he got his next paycheck but as he walked back into the living room where Bane and Twitchtip were arguing good naturedly about the best songs the band had played that night, he felt that it was worth every cent.

After finishing off their dinner/midnight snack, Ares went into the kitchen and came back with a small bottle of liquor. Bane's eyes lit up.

"Now it's a party," he said with a grin. "C'mon, Twitch, join us in our debauchery?"

The brunette cast him and the bottle a doubtful look, almost seeming upset that Ares had brought it out. "I have better things to do with a Friday night than wallow in your iniquity, Bane."

"Pshk," was his response as he snagged the bottle from Ares and took a quick swig. He held it out to the girl next to him. "This little bit's not even gonna get you uneasy on your feet if the three of us split it. You know you want to, it tastes good."

Twitchtip sighed and took the bottle despite her better judgment and took a tentative swallow. Then she coughed and pushed it back to Ares. "That was horrible. How do you choke that stuff down?"

"Mother's milk," Bane purred, making grabby hands at the older man while he drank.

"Sorry, it's pretty cheap quality," Ares said. "I promise it tastes better the more you spend on it. So, presents?"

"Oh yeah!" Twitchtip sprang to her feet and darted to the door. "I almost forgot mine, I'll be right back!"

"I…I have presents?" the pale boy asked, voice quavering slightly. Ares just rubbed his head and went into his room to retrieve the wrapped package. Twitchtip and Ares got back at the same time, both holding boxes. "Whoa, big presents!"

"Mine first," Twitchtip demanded, opening the lid of her box to reveal a beautifully made cake. It was mostly dark purple, with green words and black bats covering it.

"Did you make this?" Bane murmured in awe at the graceful swirls and delicious smell coming from the box.

"Of course," she said, like the cake that had taken her hours to finish was nothing. The cake put a hold on present opening because Bane started to drool and demanded they cut it immediately. Ares withdrew candles from a drawer and lit them. Bane gazed at the tiny dancing flames knowing that he was supposed to make a wish but completely at a loss for something he didn't have at that moment. Finally, he blew them out and the cake was divvied between the three of them.

Then Bane was confronted with the large box covered in red paper. As he tore through it to the cardboard beneath he grew more and more confused, unsure what lay within. Finally he extracted a heavy device with an overwhelming number of dials and switches, along with a few blank CDs, headphones, and a couple other accessories. He looked questioningly at Ares.

"It's a home recording studio," the man told him. "I've heard you play, you should get some of it down and see if you can do something with it. I _do_ work at a record company."

"Yeah, as an office bitch," Bane replied sarcastically, but he fell on Ares, giving him an enormous hug. Then he held his arm out for Twitchtip to join in, which she did hesitantly at first, but then smiled contentedly. "Group hugs for crazy people."

"Speak for yourself," Twitchtip said, extricating herself from the pile they had made. Bane left the warmth reluctantly, but cheered a bit when he managed to snatch the bottle from Ares. "Something tells me cake, booze and Chinese food isn't a good combination."

"I can handle anything," the white haired boy informed her seriously. "My stomach would never betray me."

"You mean like it did the night of the HorrorFest?" Twitchtip asked smugly.

"Silence!" Bane shrieked, and continued devouring his cake.

They spent the next half hour eating, drinking and talking. Bane fiddled with his new recording equipment, refusing to look at the manual and declaring that he would have the whole system figured out by tomorrow. Twitchtip found that the liquor's horrid taste was much diminished the more she drank of it, and Ares allowed himself to sink into quiet reflection while the other two spoke.

Her tongue loosened considerably by the effects of her first tryst with alcohol, Twitchtip prodded Bane in the head and said, "Ares told me the reason this birthday had to be the best ever was because you never had one before. What's up with that?"

The boy stiffened, and didn't look up from his machine. Ares perked up as well, curious, but ready to step in if it seemed Bane couldn't take it. His jaw clenched and his hands shook, but finally he looked at the girl. "I'll explain if you let me lay on your lap," he told her quietly, considerably braver from the intoxicating liquid coursing through his system. He wasn't nearly as affected by it as his companion was, but he had to admit it helped face his fears.

"Okay," Twitchtip replied, unable to find anything unreasonable with the request. When the pale boy laid his head down on her lap, the rest of him spread out on the couch, she absently wound her fingers in his hair. She had to admit that his nearness was comfortable as opposed to unnerving as it normally was. "Now spill."

Bane closed his eyes for a second to collect his thoughts and revel in the comfort he felt laying in her lap, inhaling her clean sweet scent. His mother had always smelled like fresh cut flowers, and right now, lying in Twitchtip's lap with her hands stroking his head, he was strongly reminded of the woman.

"I may have had birthday parties when I was a small child, but I can't remember," his voice was low but clear and devoid of emotion. "When I was five years old I was taken into custody by child services and I spent most of my time in an orphanage. Our birthday's consisted of an extra bit of dessert and maybe a stuffed animal if we had good behavior. I was never the model child, and so I didn't receive those kinds of rewards. When I was fourteen I started being place with foster families so that I could 'integrate into a family unit' since I had never been considered for adoption. I must have cause a lot of trouble, because I was always sent back by this time of the year. Then after the holidays were over they would place me again. I never had anyone to celebrate with so my birthday was just another day of the year."

The unexpectedly depressing story left the room feeling quiet and gloomy. Twitchtip's eyes watered slightly with empathy more than pity, and Ares just stared at his feet. How could he hope to contribute any happiness to someone like Bane who had related everything in a blank monotone, too resigned to everything to bother being upset? There was more to the story, everyone knew, but neither of Bane's friends could bring themselves to press any further.

Twitchtip did manage to ask in a quavering voice, "Where you ever adopted?"

"Once," Bane whispered, then turned to bury his face in her stomach. She wrapped her arms around her head and looked up to Ares. Her eyes pleaded with him but neither one of them knew what she was asking for. Ares sighed, he hadn't meant for this night to take such a dramatic turn, and it was getting close to three in the morning. He thought about suggesting everyone turn in, but hated to leave everything on such a sad note.

Eventually Bane extricated himself from Twitchtip, giving her a small hug for the comfort she had given him and stood up. "I should go to bed, thanks for everything you guys. This was an amazing night."

He picked up the box containing the remains of his cake and balanced it on the one containing his recording equipment, then left the apartment. Twitchtip took a few deep breaths before standing up as well, trying to make sure she kept her balance and didn't embarrass herself by looking as drunk as she felt. When Ares silently walked her to the door she looked up at him again. He caught himself thinking that her sad blue eyes were almost as pretty as Bane's shining red ones. The girl squeezed his hand and kissed him on the cheek.

"You did a really good thing today, Ares," she told him smiling gently, the sarcastic façade she normally kept up completely gone. "He's happy, even if the last bit was really sad."

With that she left, but Ares stood staring at the closed door lost in the darkest reaches of his mind. As happy as Bane had been, he couldn't bring himself to shake the creeping sorrow that was invading his mind. His empty apartment was closing in around him, making him feel claustrophobic and sick. No matter how many things he did for Bane, he knew it would still be Twitchtip whom he went to for comfort, and who he watched dance in a rare moment of abandon. All the smiles the boy sent him today hurt, because none of them had the same spark that was sent to Twitchtip who seemed not to notice.

Ares didn't sleep that night, but spent his time in the silent darkness staring at the ceiling and wondering where he could possibly go from here.


	13. Super Happy Filler Time GO! No 3

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **Super Happy Filler Time Go! (No 3: Minor Characters Edition)

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference, severe language, medication and male desperation.

The last few chapters of this story have been getting a third of the hits they normally get and one hundred percent less reviews. The author is begging to know what I've screwed up. Or maybe you're all on vacation/grounded/freaking dead. I'm not the kind to hold my story hostage for reviews, and I don't like those people, but I wouldn't be writing this if not for the knowledge that people were reading and enjoying. If no one is reading or enjoying, then there is no point. So even if it's just a 'hi I'm still alive' let me know, kay? Also, I love the scene with Henry in this chapter, and I wish he was a bigger part of the story. See you.

**Beta:**

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W—

A knock woke Ares from his half slumber. He rubbed his head, it was the day after Bane's party, or rather five hours after the party had finally come to an end and he'd gotten essentially no sleep. It had been a while since he'd indulged in alcohol, seeing as it had caused him far too many problems in the past, and he'd forgotten one of its most unpleasant effects. A dull buzz collected behind his eyes, not a migraine yet, but threatening to become one. The knock came again.

Ares stumbled to the door, half dressed and cursing whoever was on the other side, making him get out of bed and making his head pulse. Who was it, anyway? No one he could think of would actually knock on his door, certainly not Bane or Nike, but maybe Twitchtip. That wasn't right though, she would probably still be asleep, or at least uncomfortable enough about the previous night to want to spend time alone just like he did. He just wanted to curl up in a ball under all his sheets and blankets and pretend nothing had happened, pretend the world was over.

"I'm coming, geez," he snapped furiously, as the current object of his fury knocked again. Finally he flung open the door to find a devastatingly handsome young man standing before him. He was dressed nicely, but managed to retain his 'don't give a shit' attitude in his stance and the smirk on his face. He had silky silver colored hair that fell lazily about his face, and dark penetrating purple eyes.

"Long time no see, bestie," the young man said, his smirk widening into a grin.

"Henry," Ares spat, waves of anger and resentment coming off of him, but the other man didn't seem to notice at all. The dark haired man was too stunned to protest as the embodiment of deceit and betrayal sidled into his apartment and made himself at home on the shabby but comfortable couch in the living room. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"You still have horrible manners, I see," Henry drawled, turning his smoldering eyes on his ex-best friend. Ares used to think he had the most beautiful eyes in the world, until he'd seen the shining rubies of his neighbor. He had never been genuinely attracted to Henry, probably because deep down he knew the man was a complete sleaze, but they had been friends since high school and had gone to the same college together so the dynamic duo they fantasized themselves as wouldn't be separated. "I just came to see how my dearest friend was doing after you ran out on me and your girlfriend, leaving us to pay your third of the rent might I add. That was really stupid, you know, leaving school, running out in the rain with nowhere to go…I'm surprised you didn't catch pneumonia."

"I did, shows how much you know," Ares retorted standing in front of the relaxed looking man with his hands on his hips. Henry just leveled that confident gaze on him, and the hairs on the back of Ares's neck stood up. The gleam in his eyes reminded him of Twirltongue's superior predatory look.

"Can't believe you ended up in such a shit hole, Ares," the young man sneered, propping his shoes up on the coffee table carelessly. "Why didn't you come back after you finished your temper tantrum?"

"T-tantrum?" Ares stuttered, so beyond furious it was difficult for him to form coherent words. Finally the rage that had been building up in him since he set eyes on the man exploded. He had been dreaming about this moment for ages, certain that the second he saw the piece of scum in front of him he'd beat him senseless at the very least. With a snarl on his face he grabbed a fist full of the deep blue button up shirt Henry was wearing and shoved him up against the back of the couch. The dark haired man was far taller, and more muscular than his lean elegant counterpart. "You're lucky I wasn't committed after finding out my best friend was fucking my girlfriend for half of our year old relationship."

"Hey, that's a serious overstatement," Henry protested, still managing to look calm and collected, in fact the only thing he seemed to be worried about were the creases that were appearing in his perfectly ironed shirt. "First of all, it was only once, and she came on to me. I just went with it and that's probably a bad thing, right?"

The almost conciliatory half smile on his face made Ares want to punch him. "I came in on you two in _my_ bed, you asshole!"

"Well yeah, see, that's the proof," the smile widened for a second then disappeared as Ares's hold on the man's shirt tightened and twisted, making it difficult for him to breath. "What I mean is I went to see you, I knocked on your bedroom door and she said come in, so I did, and she's like completely naked spread out on your bed and telling me to come in with her. Look, you banged her, you know she was completely hot, how was I supposed to tell her no?"

"What you don't seem to know is that she called me, completely guilt stricken a week after I walked in on you two and confessed the whole thing," Ares spat. His fists, balled up in the fabric, were shaking with the amount of self control it took not to throw his ex-best friend out the window. "She told me it started around New Years. I caught you guys just before summer started."

"Hey, man, I told you I only slept with her once. Some other guy might've had his dick in her-" Finally Ares had all he could take, and threw the young man over the back of the couch. Henry yelled out in pain, and scrambled to his feet, hands out in front of him in a 'calm down' kind of gesture. The furious man advanced on him, and Henry backed up, still trying to get Ares to chill out. "Come on, who're you going to believe, the skank who cheated on you, or your best friend?"

His smiling face shattered as Ares's fist connected with a sickening sound. Henry's hands flew to his face, trying to discern whether his nose was broken and keep the blood off his clothes at the same time. When Ares grabbed him by the back of his shirt and one leg, the battered man realized that this reunion wasn't quite going the way he had planned it.

Henry had actually been something close to lonely without the year younger man who had shared practically all his life with. Not that he regretted sleeping with his girlfriend for six months. Henry didn't regret anything he'd ever done and he still saw the act as her fault and not his since it had been her to seduce him. He hadn't been lying about _that_ part. He just accepted it as part of being Henry. Girls loved him, period.

But part of being Henry also involved being friends with Ares, he had come to realize, and he had tracked the man down and shown up today in a genuine attempt at reconciliation. Perhaps if it was a different day and Ares wasn't half hung over and hadn't been on the door step of depression things might have turned out differently. He might have welcomed his childhood friend back with open arms instead of flailing fists.

Ares threw the young man out his door and into the hallway. Henry fell with a loud thump, the breath expelled from him with a force he didn't know Ares was capable of. Sure the guy had always been the stronger of the two, and quite the fan of martial arts, but he'd never been on the receiving end of his force and never thought he would be. Henry lay gasping on the floor, trying to stop his head from swimming, and tasting blood in his mouth from where he had bitten down on his tongue. Then he heard doors open and the few neighbors who were up peered out, curious about the loud noise that had shook the building. Henry's face burned with humiliation and he started cursing, harsh words directed at Ares.

"Are you still fucking here?" Ares screamed, kicking at him. "I swear, if you're not gone in five seconds I'm throwing you down the stairs and you _will _need an ambulance. Get out of my sight."

Henry rolled out of the way of the kick aimed at his back, and got shakily to his feet, glancing back to see Ares's dark eyes trying to burn a hole in his head. The guy was serious, and Henry started toward the elevator, almost bumping into a tall white haired boy with a smug smirk on his face and hints of jealousy behind red eyes. He passed a pretty girl who was only half out her door and looking anxious and scared, and caught himself bemoaning the fact that he'd made an ass of himself in front of someone he wouldn't mind picking up.

As the broken young man stumbled away, Ares looked around the hallway at the nosy onlookers. "What the hell are you people looking at? Show's over," he snapped and went back into his apartment to his bed. Strangely he got the best sleep he'd had in years.

-W..M..W—

Twirltongue stepped out of her shower, rivulets of water running along her body and dripping to the floor, wafts of steam spiraling around her and fogging up the large bathroom in her penthouse. She left the bathroom and stepped out into her bedroom to stand in front of her full length mirror, critically examining her naked body for the slightest flaw. Finding none she smiled at herself and shook out her long silver blonde hair, splattering drops of water on the carpet. She extracted a fluffy white towel from her closet, wrapped it around herself and walked into the living room.

Her answering machine blinked with a red light to tell her that she had new messages. Pushing the play button she went about her morning routine while listening to the voices echo through her spacious but nearly bare apartment.

"Hello Twirltongue, it's Gorger," Twirltongue smirked as she selected her outfit. Gorger was the head of her company, and she had him in her pocket. "I haven't seen you in some time, and I feel that we should have a...uh…_personal_ business meeting. Please? Have a good weekend."

The slender woman laughed quietly with disdain. Gorger was a strong imposing businessman, powerfully built with calculating dark eyes, but Twirltongue had snared him with a few sentences the first day they met. After a personal business meeting or two she found herself set for life, and rocketed up the chain of command in her department with a swiftness that would have caused great suspicion if not for the skill with which she handled her job.

"It's Gushgore," the gravelly voice made Twirltongue's ears perk up with interest. Combing her hair she listened carefully. "I have a new shipment that may be of interest to you. I look forward to your contact."

Twirltongue grinned hungrily, eager to make contact with her old friend as well. She was running quite low and had been wondering when Gushgore would finally get back in touch with her to replenish her stock. The woman sauntered back into the living room as the machine went to the next message.

"Hello? Who is this, exactly? I don't know any Twirltongue and I certainly don't know why your number would be in my husband's phone under the name 'Karen.' Just listen here, you little slut, if I find out my husband was cheating on me with you I _will_ -Message deleted," the automated voice chimed. Twirltongue just rolled her eyes and leaned against the enormous bay windows, allowing the last message to play fully, savoring the desperation in the man's voice like much needed sustenance.

"Twirltongue, it's been weeks since we last talked. Please, pick up your phone, I-I've got to see you again. This is killing me, you have no idea. I think…I think I love you. I can't get your voice out of my head and every time I close my eyes I can't see anything but you. Please, take pity on me, just let me see you one last time. I can't take living like this anymore. Please, Twirltongue, please! I just-"

The answering machine cut off the man in mid sentence, the maximum length for a message having been reached. It informed Twirltongue in a cold robotic voice that she had reached the end of her messages, but she couldn't hear. She had begun laughing when the man said he loved her, and hadn't stopped.

-W..M..W—

Twitchtip held the eyeliner up in front of her, inspecting the color and wondering how it would look on her complexion. Then she scowled and set it down on the makeshift vanity she had thrown together out of a desk, a mirror and a small clip on lamp. She stared deeply into the mirror trying to discern just what had brought her to this point. She just kept playing the conversation with Ares over in her head. What did her appearance mean to her, and for that matter what did it mean to anyone else?

Would it truly make a difference whether she wore certain colors or more flattering shapes? Did that mean the raven haired man she had set her eyes upon would realize the signs she thought she was sending him. This whole debacle was beginning to get on her nerves and she wasn't sure if she should continue trying to pursue Ares or just drop it. The problem was, he said so many things that shook her to the core and made her question all the things she'd held as fact.

"Why are you so sad?" he had asked her one day when they had passed in the hall. She had laughed it off and told him he was crazy, after all she hadn't looked upset at all. He had just put his finger under her chin to bring her gaze up to his and replied, "Your eyes never smile along with the rest of your face. You'll have to let someone in eventually."

Twitchtip glared at the reflection in the mirror and then tried to smile, seeing if it reached her eyes or not. She couldn't tell of course, and nor could she any other time she smiled or laughed or did something to pretend she was normal. She had to let someone in, he had said, and maybe she did, but he didn't seem interested in the things she tried to reveal to him.

The girl sighed and turned away from the mirror, striding toward the bathroom and opening up the medicine cabinet, searching for the box she reached for every morning. Did she have to be more obvious? Or should she wait for him to realize and respond? For a second she remembered the warmth she felt when Bane laid on her two nights before. They argued constantly but in that moment she had felt incredibly close to him, abandoned by his parents just like she was. Her fingers spasmed against the porcelain sink. This was insane, and she was completely overwhelmed.

"Story of my life," she muttered to herself bitterly. "Always out of control."

Twitchtip extracted the tablet and rolled it around in her hand for a few brief moments, wondering what it would be like not to take it for once. What would happen if she skipped a day? Her doctor hadn't told her, just insisted that she take them every day at the same time. Would missing a day bring her back to where she had been three years ago? Two days? Three? What about a week? Would that be long enough for her to remember how light tasted and colors smelled? Would it bring back the insistent insects marching through her veins, stealing her life's blood?

She shook her head to clear the thoughts away, knowing she didn't really want that to happen and stuck the tablet under her tongue to melt away, imagining her problems melting away as well. Control: that was what she craved. With a determined look on her face she lifted the liner again. She was going to make a mark one way or another.

-W..M..W—

"Hurry, close the door!" Bane shoved himself past a stunned Ares, dragging an equally confused Twitchtip into the apartment behind him and pushing the door until it was only a sliver open. He put one eye to the crack in the door, peering down to the very end of the hallway and the last apartment there. Bane motioned the other two to look as well, and they did, crowding on top of each other, eager to see just what had instigated this.

"Why did you barge into my apartment like this?" Ares demanded, poking the boy in the head. He was tired and wasn't prepared for the shenanigans that followed the boy around when he wasn't busy being depressed and angry. It was like he just dragged chaos with him wherever he went and Ares wasn't sure he could deal with it today.

"Because you've got to see this, I think it might be a sign of the apocalypse," the pale boy murmured, daring to open the door just a little bit more so they could see better. A slender woman with dirty blonde hair opened the door of the apartment he directed their attention to. The diminutive figure looked around for a few minutes, then her face lit up as the elevator doors opened to let out a young woman with a full figure and long dark hair. The two greeted each other with hugs and excited words. "See? Creepy Stalker Girl has a friend. What the hell is that, huh?"

"Is that what you're freaking out about?" Ares questioned incredulously.

Twitchtip gave a gasp of recognition, "Hey, I know that woman. The tiny one, I saw her the first day I came here lurking outside your door."

As Bane filled Twitchtip in on the person they knew only as Creepy Stalker Girl and all of her many crimes against humanity (a.k.a he and Ares), the dark man made to close the door but noticed several more people filing down the hall. A girl with long sandy blonde hair, an asian woman, and even two or three men. Bane looked up when he heard music drifting down the hall.

"She's having a party," he realized, stunned. Then his eyes widened in horror that neither of his friends could tell was real or not. "It's a stalker convention! Quick, guard your underwear, prepare the anti creeper defenses!"

With that he leapt on Ares's couch, covering his head with a pillow. The man sighed and gave Twitchtip a small smile. "Now he'll never leave. He's too scared."

She just laughed and said offhandedly, "What's that sound I hear? I think it might be Bane's CDs and instruments getting ransacked."

He immediately darted up and bolted for his room, yelling something unintelligible about grubby stalker hands on his babies. Twitchtip gave Ares a smug look and strode out the door victoriously.


	14. The Hearts You Break

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title:** The Hearts You Break

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference, language, hardcore makeouts and an 'oh no she didn't' moment. This was originally submitted in a oneshot contest before White Lies was even published or a fully formed idea, thus it has been altered greatly so as to fit with the story so far. But I kept most of it cuz I'm that lazy. The song inspiration for this fic was 'The Way We Talk' by The Maine. It used to be timed so that if you listened to it twice through the lyrics would fit the situation, but I don't think it works anymore. It'd still be cool to listen to Twirly's theme song though. Also, thanks for all the reviews, I promise I won't whine ever again. Oh and since this is a pretty short update I just might post a bonus update on Tuesday or Wednesday because the next chapter is written and in the final editing stages. So, fingers crossed and now I'll stop talking. Ja ne.

**Beta: **None…pity my poor bad grammared self.

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

For some reason, when the human spirit can't take anymore hurt or pain it always makes some kind of attempt to numb itself. Some people choose suicide, but most try to douse their pain in booze. Copious amounts of alcohol will solve everything, right? Once you've had a couple shots it starts sounding logical.

Recently when Ares was found in a bar, club, or similar place, he was in a corner, with a barely touched glass of wine, wondering why he had come in the first place. If something did bring him there he would normally stare with distaste at the people slouched over the bar, downing more alcohol than their bodies were able to handle. If not them, then his dark eyes would linger on the only half way drunk people trying to get others into their cars or apartments. Sometimes it was two girls, but normally it was a hetero couple. Ares could honestly say he had never seen two gay men together in public.

He had been almost a party animal when he was younger, due to Henry's insistence, but he was never happy the day after, and he had stopped frequenting clubs and bars. Strange that Henry's visit earlier that morning had been the final straw that prompted him to lurk in this dingy establishment.

Tonight, he was one of those melancholy souls with his head pressed against the bar and his fingers lingering around the glass that had formerly held a shot of vodka. It was straight Russian vodka, almost complete alcohol, and it tasted like shit and burned like fire. He didn't waste time with the pretty colored alcohols, or attempt to make them palatable. All Ares wanted was to be completely numb as quickly as possible. He was a light weight, and hardly ever drank, so it only took him about two shots before his head was fogging.

The dark haired man was currently engaged in an argument with himself. It was so stupid of him to go and do this. The other side of his mind, the one currently soaking in fine vodka, thought it was a brilliant idea and that the behavior should continue. He was saved from actually having to make a decision when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone sit next to him. This wouldn't have been a big deal if, seconds later, a hand hadn't stroked his hair.

Ares sat up at a speed that was dangerous in his state, and was only saved from falling down by a pair of slender hands supporting him.

"Careful, now," A silky smooth voice warned. Even in his slightly inebriated condition he knew who sat beside him without having to look. Her presence made him shiver and as always he couldn't tell if it was pleasurable or simply a terrified reaction.

"What are you doing here?" He snapped, refusing to look at the woman who had furtively

moved her bar stool so it was touching his own.

She toyed with a strand of his black hair, barely brushing his face as she countered, "I could say the same to you." Ares brushed her hand away. The woman shrugged slightly and gestured to the bartender; two drinks appeared immediately.

"Look, Twirltongue, I-" He finally turned to look at her, and received a slight shock. In his mind Twirltongue was synonymous with the professional looking woman that he knew at work. She was obviously dressed for a night out, however, and the deep red keyhole top she was wearing made her formfitting pinstripe suit look like a nun's habit . He could never figure out how she managed to look classy and elegant, yet still drive every man in a ten yard radius completely insane.

She smirked at him from behind her long lashes, "Why don't you tell me what's on your mind?" Ares blinked, trying to gather his thoughts, and absently noted that her silvery hair had been let down to coil around her bare shoulders.

Why was he here, anyway? The haze induced by the alcohol cleared momentarily, and he let out a groan. He was here to forget, and Twirltongue wasn't helping. Ares dropped his head onto his crossed arms and muttered, "My life is over."

Twirltongue shot him an amused look, "Oh you poor thing," she mocked. The young man turned so he could glare at her from behind his black curtain of hair. "How about a less fatalistic answer, hm?"

Ares scowled at her. He really didn't want to discuss his problems with anyone, especially Twirltongue. At a loss for anything to say that could get him out of having to explain, he downed the glass in front of him. Immediately it was replaced by another. Neat, he observed. Like magic. "Fine. I have feelings for someone and they don't know I exist. Not only that they're obsessed with someone else. Happy now?"

"Not really," Twirltongue drawled in her velvet-like voice. She smirked when he sat up, looking confused, and explained. "Contrary to popular opinion I don't enjoy other peoples' misery, not all the time anyway. I also want to know what exactly is so special about this person that you would pursue them when they do not reciprocate your feelings."

Ares took another swig of the clear alcohol in front of him, and, again, it was refilled. This time, however, he saw Twirltongue's slight nod to the bartender. She was trying to get him drunk, he realized with more surprise than he would have if he was sober. He was ok though, it was only his third…fourth?…drink.

"Well?" Twirltongue prompted impatiently. The woman was pouting slightly, as if the very thought of someone distracting Ares from herself was going to ruin her evening.

It wasn't easy to describe the way he felt, especially now that his thought process was slowed considerably by the booze he had consumed. Ares ran a hand through his hair, trying to aid his thought process. "I-I don't know. He's just…perfect. I mean, he's really odd but it doesn't bother me. It's like…everything he does and says is just-I don't know. I can't make sense of it in my own head, there's no way I can explain it to you. It…it hurts, when I think about him, or talk to him. It's like he looks right through me."

He slumped onto the bar once more, his face hidden by his crossed arms. Twirltongue took this as an opportunity to thread her fingers through his soft hair once more. She had listened dutifully, only raising one perfectly done eyebrow at the word 'he.' Ares didn't resist her touch, but shuddered slightly as she leaned forward and pressed against his back.

"Poor dear," she crooned softly into his ear, "unrequited love is worse than the poets make it out to be isn't it?" The woman got no answer, but she took his stillness as agreement. "I know how it feels, it happened to me when I was younger."

Twirltongue drifted off, as if she was recalling some painful memory. Ares turned and looked at her, "_You?_" he asked, his tone disbelieving. It wasn't clear if he was questioning her ability to love someone, or marveling that someone would deny her.

"Mhmm," she answered into the back of his neck. She pulled back a bit, and Ares sat up so he could see her better. "A year or so ago, I met a young man and fell head over heels, if you could believe that. For a very long time I was completely invisible to him, no matter what I tried. But I got him in the end."

Ares meant to ask what exactly she meant by the phrase 'got him' but before he did he noticed something odd. Somehow, during the course of her brief monologue, the slender woman had worked her way onto his lap. When he realized this it was like someone had flipped a switch. All of his senses flared, and he was suddenly aware of things that he hadn't been before. The smell of her hair, the warmth of her slim form against his body, and the intense glimmer in her deep green eyes, all of it threatened to overwhelm him.

"How?" he murmured, held in place firmly by her gaze.

Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to her, and Twirltongue answered softly, "I made him love me." Then, certain she would have no resistance, she softly pressed her lips against his own.

Ares surprised himself when he didn't pull away from her advances. He could have easily blamed the alcohol that she had pumped into his system, but he didn't. Instead, he told himself that he owed it to her. She was the only person who had helped, or tried to help, him with his problem. "And then?" he whispered when she had withdrawn.

"Then? I left him, so he could feel what he had done to me." Twirltongue leaned forward again, her intentions clear. Her cruel words not really registering to him, Ares shocked them both by kissing back. A triumphant smirk played on her lips as his tongue slipped through them. His tongue darted across the tips of her teeth, and he cupped her face in his hands.

When he pulled back it wasn't to resist her attentions, but to say quietly, "Tell me about him, he must have been something if you liked him like that." The free hand pressed against the small of her back, fingers stroking the sliver of skin between her shirt and jeans.

Twirltongue gave a soft 'Mmmm' of satisfaction before answering, "He was young…younger than you. Maybe seventeen," Her partner chuckled softly.

"Robbing the cradle?" Ares rebuked playfully.

The young woman slipped her arms out from around his neck. One rested dangerously high up on his thigh, and the other toyed with the hem of his shirt. Her lips caressed his neck when she next spoke, "And he had this white hair. It was so soft, though, he couldn't have been bleaching it."

He ran his hand through her loose silver hair and stroked her neck. At this point he wasn't even trying to justify his actions, or define their cause. He had been depressed for so long, and this was making him happy so he went with it. Even though he knew Twirltongue was probably using him, and that she had no real feelings for him. Maybe this was what he needed, although in a more logical moment he would have vehemently denied it.

Teeth grazed Ares's neck, and he let out a small whine of surprise as the sweet kisses turned slightly feral. "I'll always remember his eyes, though," Twirltongue told him, pressing even closer. "They were deep red. Almost the color of blood."

Ares's eyes widened, and he sobered as quickly as if someone had emptied a bucket of ice water on him. He became acutely aware of the position they were both in. Twirltongue was straddling him, her body pressed against him. One of her hands was uncomfortably high on his leg, and the other had come up to play with a strand of his dark hair. His own hands had slipped under the back of her shirt.

Twirltongue picked up on his discomfort almost immediately, and surveyed him quizzically. She pouted slightly, disappointed that their previous behavior had been disturbed. Her confusion quickly turned to shock as he glared at her. His hands grasped her slender waist and pushed her off of him.

"You bitch!" He hissed, putting as much contempt and hate as he possibly could into those two words. Ares stood up furiously, "It's no wonder he doesn't trust anyone after what you did to him."

The woman stared at him, frightened and confused. She was normally quick on the uptake, but his sudden one eighty had thrown her completely off balance. Twirltongue just sat there as he gave her an outraged look and then walked out of the bar.

She blinked, still staring at the door, then turned to the young black man sitting beside her. "You," she snapped. "You're buying me a drink."

The man looked her up and down, then grinned replying, "Yes, _ma'am_."

"Mange!" snapped a voice that was halfway between a shout and a snarl. A pale fiery-haired woman strode up to the two, her bright green eyes leveled in a glare at the man. "We're going home."

He flushed and stood up. The two walked out the door, leaving Twirltongue to sit and sulk by herself. Even after all the other patrons had left the bar, she still couldn't figure out exactly what had gone wrong.


	15. Cuddling Abstinence

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **Cuddling Abstinence

**Chapter Rating: **PG

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for…nothing? There's some language and ever so slight references to sex, but really as far as debauchery and excitement this chapter is a little sparse. Oh and smoking. Smoking is bad for you kids, even if all the cool people do it. I'm being extra nice and posting this chapter because I'M GOING TO THE HP PREMIER TOMORROW HOLY CRAP. And so I'm feeling excited and generous. However, I only have 3k words (half) of the next chapter done so if it's a little later than Sunday don't killz meh. Have fun at HP if any of you are going! I know I will. Ja ne!

**Beta:** There's no one to stop my run-on sentences from strangling me…

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W—

It had been three days. Three days since the conclusion of what was probably the worst weekend of Ares's life. He had faced more than anyone probably should in such a short amount of time. Bane had revealed a few pieces of his sordid past, and hinted that the rest was just too devastating to think about. Henry had sauntered back into his life and although he'd only been there for half an hour, it had been an eternity's worth of anger and frustration for Ares. He couldn't believe that idiot really believed he could just lie and smirk his way back into Ares's good graces. Talk about an egomaniac.

Then when he just wanted to forget about everything, especially the heartbreak that had come from finally accepting that Bane would never be able to return his feelings, he had been faced with the embodiment of cruelty and manipulation herself. _Twirltongue_.

Just thinking the name in his head made Ares's hands clench spasmodically into fists. He didn't hit women, but he wasn't sure a soulless demon in women's clothing counted or not. The man sighed and forced his tight muscles to relax, dropping the shirt he had been unconsciously wringing in his hands. Great, now it would wrinkle. He smoothed the damp fabric and started to shove the whole load of laundry into the dryer.

With the stress and complications of the past few days cleaning and laundry had fallen by the wayside, and that morning Ares had realized that he no longer had any decent clean clothes for work. He had grudgingly worn a dirty shirt and his last pair of clean pants and hoped no one noticed. Not that anyone at work even interacted with him other than Twirltongue and the sultry businesswoman was warily keeping her distance from him.

Ares glanced at the window, the darkening color streaked sky telling him that it was getting late. Maybe he should get something to eat…nah. He hadn't been eating much in the past couple of days either, too distracted, too distressed to have an appetite.

"Stupid bitch," he muttered angrily and closed the door of the drier with undo force. He said that almost every five minutes recently. It was easier to blame everything on Twirltongue than actually think about it. But as he leaned his head against the metal it was difficult not to start thinking. The biggest question on his mind recently was 'How does he do it?'

How did Bane manage to smile at his friends when he saw them in the hall, to pounce happily on Ares in pursuit of the cigarettes he was too lazy or broke to get himself? How did he laugh at unrealistically gory horror movies and argue with Twitchtip about something completely inane?

If Ares had half the problems Bane had he wouldn't want to get out of bed in the morning. Of course, Ares realized, Bane didn't. Some days he refused to leave his room, or even move for that matter. Occasionally Ares would be able to tempt him out of his solitude with food or some new kind of trouble to get into, but other times the boy would just stare at the ceiling, dead to the world that had forsaken him without a second thought. Then there was all the trouble with school he had, and the references to wild nights of illicit substances and emotionless hook ups. Maybe he wasn't as well off as he seemed. Maybe that pretty face Ares had come to care for so much was hiding a turmoil he couldn't even understand.

Ares sighed again. All of his breaths seemed to end in sighs nowadays. Why did he always fall for the broken souls? The damaged goods of society always came his way, and without fail he would be stricken by a desire to hold them and love them and try to piece them together no matter how much they just wanted to be left alone.

"And what good comes out of it?" he asked himself bitterly. Nothing had ever come out of all his attempts to fix people. He could never give them what they needed, and they could never give him the care and loyalty that he himself craved. Maybe it was a good thing he didn't have a future with Bane, obviously he wasn't qualified to be around people with such deep issues. And who knows how many other devastating secrets lurked behind those blood red eyes?

Nike had called him yesterday, demanding to know what had happened between him and Henry. Apparently the young man had gone back to their old crowd of friends with a dramatic story of how violent Ares had become and how he had just barely gotten away alive. Ares had explained what had actually occurred and managed to keep his temper in check during the retelling. He'd thought he had done a pretty good job of disguising just how twisted his life was but then Nike had surprised him.

"How are you doing, Ares?" she had asked. "And don't give me an 'okay' or 'I'm fine.' I can hear it in your voice, something is very wrong."

He had been evasive in his answer, saying something about work and boys and stupid and birthdays. Despite not wanting to get into the whole convoluted story, Ares was touched by how genuine his friend's concern was. Nike had always taken care of him of course, but it was in that gruff 'get better or I'll kick your ass' way that she had of dealing with things.

"Ares. You know I love you, but you have this horrible habit of dwelling on shit that you can't change," she had told him, sounding frustrated that he wouldn't give her any real information. "I don't need a repeat of the whole Megara and Henry debacle where you were depressed and angry for months. It's not healthy to keep everything bottled up and dwell on it. I don't know what's going on with you now, since obviously your closest friend isn't important enough to be your confidante but you really need to move on and try to find something to make you happy."

"Thanks, Nike, I'll keep that in mind," was all he had said. She'd laughed then, knowing he was trying to get her off the phone.

"You're a good guy, Ares, you just need someone to tell you to stop being a bitch every once in a while." After that she had said her goodbyes, and Ares had gone back to wandering aimlessly through his apartment as if an answer to his problems would appear on the walls if he walked past them enough.

Now though, alone and too contemplative for his tastes, he was considering her suggestion. What made him happy? Besides replaying the moment he had punched Henry in the face over and over again on his internal movie screen, what made him happy? Bane's smile made him happy, and the feel of soft sheets, and the smell of winter in the air. Having someone he cared about made him happy. And if he thought they cared about him back he was ecstatic. Was the answer really what Nike had suggested all along? Stop pining about a dream and a fantasy and just go out and find someone to be with for a while?

The thought was tempting, but he knew from past experience that finding an accommodating stranger to warm his bed for a night was never the answer to his problems. It had to be someone he actually cared about, who cared who he was and not just that he was somewhat attractive. Just as his mind settled on the obvious conclusion, she walked through the door of the laundry room, lugging a heavy basket of laundry. Speak of the devil.

"Thanks, Ares," she said as he caught the basket just before it fell to the floor. Twitchtip smiled in that 'I think this is how normal people smile,' way she had. Like she had practiced in the mirror before going out into public.

"No problem," he responded, watching her sort through her clothes. They stood together in silence for a few moments until the girl finished loading her laundry. Finally Ares spoke. "How's school going, Twitch? Getting along with everyone okay?"

"As well as I can, I suppose," she replied, leaning against the wall next to her friend and watching the clothes spin and writhe around in the washer. "The kids are nice enough, although once people figured out that I hung around Bane everyone kind of scattered to the winds. Some scrawny pale girl took offense to me for some reason, like I wasn't good enough to be his friend. But she's left us both alone. That poor kid gets a lot of shit from the people at school, you know? If they aren't treating him like a bomb that's ready to go off at any moment, they're harassing him for something."

"Yeah, but he can take care of himself," Ares assured her, watching the minutes tick off on his dryer. "He broke some kids arm a little bit ago in gym. Ratriff, I think his name was. Apparently the guy was one of the assholes who decided to make Bane's life a living hell."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that," she breathed in awe, not having really believed the rumors about the event that had happened just before she entered the school. "How did he avoid getting in trouble?"

"Made it look like an accident, as far as I know," the dark haired man replied and began to take his clean clothes out of the machine. He looked through them carefully, making sure every article was there. He hadn't left the room while his clothes were washing as a precaution against theft, but he had learned not to doubt the near mystical powers of Creepy Stalker Girl. Underestimate her once and bam, your favorite pair of purple silk boxers is gone.

Twitchtip watched him, amused by how meticulously he was going through his laundry. "Bane told me you had some problems keeping track of your clothes, but this is ridiculous, Ares."

"It's not that I can't keep track of them, it's that a certain young lady likes to steal personal items from me," Ares grumbled. He began folding as the door creaked open again. His eyes automatically darted to the source of the noise, afraid CSG had realized that he was doing laundry. No, it was just a tired looking woman holding a bundle of extra large extra stained clothes in her arms.

"Oh, weird," Twitchtip wrinkled her nose at the thought of someone pawing through her clothes. Then she sighed. "I thought school would be better than this."

"What do you mean?" Ares asked.

"Well I guess it's just because I'm used to going at my own pace, but everything seems so slow and pointless. I just wish I was done with it."

"Not too much longer," he said with a half smile. He'd forgotten just how smart the girl was, her odd demeanor and secretiveness having occupied most of his thoughts of her. "Hey, I need a smoke, come up to the roof with me after I drop off my clothes?"

"What about mine?" she asked.

"Look, if they're gone I'll replace them, promise," Ares laughed at her concern. "I seriously don't think the tenants have enough brain cells between them to think of ganking your clothes, and Creepy Stalker Girl definitely won't bother with them."

"But-" he raised a finger to halt her protests and glanced at the amorphous blob of a woman seated in one of the rickety old chairs.

"Besides, I doubt they'd fit anyone, anyway," he told her.

"Alright, fine," she laughed. "But I don't see what's so great about the roof anyway."

As they took Ares's clothes to his apartment Twitchtip told him that Bane had tried to get her to go on the roof with him one time and that she hadn't like the idea of going up on the roof at night. It was some night that he and Bane weren't hanging out and the boy had hoped the lights of the city would seduce her for him. Or at least so Ares imagined.

"It'll probably be windy up there, do you need another coat?" His eyes drifted to the thin jacket she wore as he stashed a pack of cigarettes in his back pocket. He had started to leave them in his apartment to avoid Bane snatching them out of his pants. Sharing was great, but he didn't have the money to buy enough smokes for both of them.

"No, I'll be fine," she said with the tiniest of smirks.

"Suit yourself," Ares shrugged.

When they reached the maintenance closet Twitchtip gave the ceiling hatch a dubious look. "Are we allowed up there?"

"Of course," he lied blithely. "Do you think I'd do it if we weren't?"

She laughed again at his transparency then bit her lip. "Have I mentioned I'm afraid of heights?"

"Don't worry, Twitch," he reassured her. "I used to be a little nervous too, but after coming up here with Bane a few times and watching him pace five inches away from the edge I got over it."

The brunette gave him a smile that almost looked genuine and climbed up after him. The gusts of winter wind immediately made her shudder, raising goose bumps along her skin. Ares gave her a 'told you so' look but didn't say anything, merely put an arm around her so she could nestle into his thick coat and body heat. The palest pink flush spread across her nose and cheeks, and she silently blamed the cold.

They sat down next to each other, Twitchtip still leaned into her friend, Ares lighting his cigarette. He took a deep drag from it, the chemicals immediately calming his frayed nerves, if only a little bit. For a few minutes they spoke with each other about insignificant things like school and work. Twitchtip was entranced by the smoke that drifted from his mouth as he spoke and curled around his words like it was alive and aware. Her own warm breath made a pale imitation of his smoke when she breathed out.

"Does your family live around here?" Ares questioned suddenly when their other threads of conversation had died out. He wanted to know more about the girl, and figured that an offhanded nonthreatening question might prompt her to divulge more of her past.

"No," she replied after a few moments debate. He didn't seem like he was pressing her, speaking nonchalantly and listening with a vague curiosity. "They live a few hours away with my younger brother."

His dark eyes prompted her silently to continue, and the color on her cheeks darkened at the attention he was giving her. Normally he felt that he was more concerned with what Bane was doing than what she was saying, but that was probably just a silly insecurity. He certainly seemed to be rapt now.

"My brother is two years younger than me, but we've been close since we were children. I always got along better with him than the girls my age, and we would get into all kinds of trouble together," the look in her eyes was fond and somewhat remorseful as she spoke. "I miss him a lot, but Bane makes it better. They're really similar, you know? Except Bane's cooler and he's my friend."

"Am I like your younger brother?" Ares asked, putting his cigarette out on the bottom of his shoe and catching her eyes with his own. It was then that he noticed she was blushing. Because of him?

"No, you're much more…" she drifted off and looked away a bit, her dark lashes veiling her blue eyes, and a few strands of straightened brown hair drifted into her face. Ares was going to press her to finish her thought before realizing how obviously she was flirting with him.

She had just said Bane was like her little brother. How much more shot down can a guy get? It was worse than the friend zone, but Ares wasn't even thinking about the fact that the boy would be upset if he knew. He was thinking that there was a beautiful girl sitting next to him, smiling and laughing at things he said, turning pink when he looked at her straight on. He wasn't thinking about how secretive she was, or how strained her flirtation was, like she had read it out of a book and tried to put it into action. He was remembering Nike telling him to move on and do something to make him happy.

Was he happy?

Almost. He was as close as he had been for a long time. As close as he had been since he realized just how futile this whole thing with Bane was. He didn't stop to think that he was gravitating toward someone just because he was lonely…again. And he pretended that Nike had never told him that the best way to make Bane jealous and get his attention was to get involved with the one person he was fixated on.

"Chilly," Twitchtip observed, shifting nervously. Ares realized that he had been quiet too long, looking at her too closely.

"Yeah, I'd ask you to get coffee but Bane's had me kick out of all the coffee shops around here," the dark haired man laughed, subtly pulling the girl a bit closer to him so he could feel her through his coat.

"How did he do that?" the girl asked, latching onto the opportunity to continue talking.

"Well he rented a laptop, and I borrowed one from work, and we went to that coffee shop on the corner, you know the one with wifi? And we sat there for almost fifteen minutes in an IM conversation with the volume turned all the way up. So, every time one of us got a message this loud annoying ring would go through the place. Finally the manager threw us out because all the customers were leaving."

Twitchtip laughed, one of the only authentic expressions of happiness he'd seen from her. "He's really crazy, huh?"

"If you ask me, I'm the crazy one for going along with it," Ares pointed out. "So, since coffee's out of the question, what about dinner sometime?"

"We already had dinner together, remember?" the girl pointed out.

"Damn. We have. A movie then? But no, we've done that too," he mused. Twitchtip regarded him inquisitively, wondering just what he was getting at. "What about ice skating?"

"I can't skate," she told him, eyes wide and apologetic. Actually, she could, but was wondering if she could get him to reveal his plans.

Finally he laughed and asked with fake exasperation, "How am I supposed to ask you out if I can't bring you on a date, huh?"

Her eyes widened and she gasped. Then Twitchtip grinned and pounced on the man beside her, pushing him to the rooftop and kissing him. It was awkward at first, stiff and unsure, but when Ares gently kissed her back, brushing his fingers across her face, the girl relaxed. As she pulled away, he sat up, holding her at arm's length from him.

"Woah, now," He said faking solemnity. "No kisses till after the seventh date, and we obviously have nowhere we can go, so you'll have to hold off on that kind of behavior."

Twitchtip laughed. "Seventh, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm saving cuddling till marriage, too, so don't even try that."


	16. Handful of Nothing

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **Handful of Nothing

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference, lots of cussing, office gossip and freaking Twirltongue. AND ANGST. The closer my stories get to their climaxes the greater the angst, it's like I'm a freaking emo machine churning out the depression. Hell yeah. But it's sexy depression. Oh, so Harry Potter was fanfreakingtastic. Tune in to my deviantart account (t3h-b4n3) to see pics of me as Tonks. Btw: Sooooo sorry this went unedited. I didn't write at all since Wednesday so I had to hurry and get it up in time. Because of this I didn't have time to think up a suitably interesting title so you get a song lyric. Hah.

pssst: we're halfway through the story now. yay!

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W—

"Mmm," Bane purred, exhaling the smoke slowly, savoring the taste as it curled out of his mouth. "Sexy nicotine in my veins. Tastes like cancer, just the way I like it."

This was the part where Ares was supposed to roll his eyes and shake his head in amused disbelief, then self consciously take a small drag on his own cigarette. Or where Twitchtip would punch him in the arm, grab the cigarette out of his mouth and give him a long angry lecture on stunted growth, coronary heart disease, infertility and a bunch of other big words Bane didn't care about.

That's what was supposed to happen in Bane's mind, in his perfect world, but a month ago everything had changed. Twitchtip and Ares were dating now, neither had really told him how it happened, but it did. It was the beginning of the third week of December, and Bane and Twitchtip were on winter break. He was lounging in a small crater that his body had created in the snow, clad in just about every jacket he owned, letting the cigarette warm his insides.

It wasn't that Bane had a problem with his two best friends dating, he had told Ares that it was fine with him multiple times. Despite that the two still seemed a bit awkward displaying any kind of affection around him, which just made Bane feel worse. He didn't want his friends tiptoeing around him like he was a small child that would explode simply because he didn't have his way. But at the same time when he did catch them being close, cuddling, kissing, or just seeing Ares touch Twitchtip's hand in that strangely intimate way he had, the strangest feeling came over him. It was beginning to interfere with them hanging out, because it was uncomfortable enough for Bane to avoid it by avoiding them.

Bane took another cigarette out of the pack and lit it on the stub dangling from his mouth before spitting that one into the snow to fizzle out. The stress was making him chain smoke like no one's business, and he was quite upset that he hadn't been able to disable the smoke alarm in his apartment. He spent so much time on the roof nowadays that he was certain he would die of exposure one night. He was even starting to miss school, on break he had far too much alone time on his hands now that the three of them weren't spending all of their time together.

The boy didn't want to be jealous, and he wasn't sure that was it. In fact, that same horrible angry heat welled up inside of his stomach when he saw Ares paying attention to Twitchtip instead of him as when the reverse happened. If he really desired Twitchtip wouldn't he be more bothered when she ignored him than when Ares did?

"I never know what I want," he breathed, glaring out at the picturesque cityscape like it had personally offended him. He didn't like the cold and snow. He didn't like all of the perfect little families running around being happy like they had a reason. He hated holidays of all kinds, just blatant reminders of how ruined his life was. He loathed cute affectionate couples, they made him gag and squirm in the deep places of his being, but really they just made him think why? Why can't I do that? Why doesn't anyone want me like that? Doesn't _anyone_ want me?

The answer time and again had been no. That was why Christmas was his least favorite time of the year. Disgusting people swarming about taking up oxygen without a second thought beyond 'oh I hope I get that whatever it is' and 'maybe we should have oreo pie this year.' When he was little his thoughts had consisted of 'I wonder if mama and father will fight again this year' and 'I hope the bruises fade by the time I go back to school.' And then after he had been put into the adoption system and rejected time and time again by temporary homes, ignored by potential families in favor of the cuter happier children:

"Why does every one hate me?" Tears briefly shimmered in Bane's red eyes but he blinked away the moisture, blaming it on the howling wind. He punched the ceiling, scraping the material of his gloves and bruising his knuckles. Strong as he was he couldn't hit stone like that and come away unscathed, but he didn't want to. He had been dealing with physical pain as long as he could remember. It was simple straight forward, and hurt a lot less than letting himself feel his emotions.

"Stupid break, stupid snow, stupid fucking people," with each growled complaint he hit the roof again. He would have continued to curse and damn everyone and everything that was pissing him off, and the list was long, but blood was starting to seep through the knuckles of his gloves. As his fury subsided the lethargic numbness returned to him and he took a deep drag. "Maybe I was better off alone. Every time I let someone get close it just hurts worse."

His mother, Razor, Twirl-no, he didn't even _think_ her name anymore-, and now Ares and Twitchtip had all left him in some way or another. Maybe he was better off alone, perhaps he should just move and forget any of this had even happened to him. Maybe.

-W..M..W—

It was sometime later when Bane finally descended, gently nursing his bruised hand, almost wishing he hadn't been so violent with the building. Eh, it probably deserved it. Damn building.

As he walked toward Twitchtip's door he heard music playing, and it opened as he passed. The girl had painstakingly put her hair up in a French twist, it had taken her almost an hour, and smoky black and silver makeup decorated her eyes. She wore a dress with a square neckline, cap sleeves, and a full skirt that came just under her knees, a black crinoline peaked out underneath it. The fabric was deep purple silk with sheer shimmering black over top of it, and her legs were bravely bare of stockings.

She smiled up at him, a sparkle in her blue eyes that wasn't there before and Bane regretted all of the ill thoughts toward her. He couldn't leave, not with people like this here that still tried to make him happy.

"Well?" she asked expectantly, hands on her hips. Her heels made her much taller and she almost came up to his chin.

"You look great, Twitch, what do you expect?" he asked with a smirk, stuffing his hurt hand into the pocket of his trench coat to avoid any unwanted attention. Why was she all dressed up again? He had a nagging feeling that something important was going on that he had forgotten about.

Then the door to Ares's apartment opened and the man stepped out, fully decked in a black suit with a dark purple silk shirt underneath and black tie. He looked nice but supremely uncomfortable in the fancy clothes. Ares turned to see his girlfriend and he smiled. Immediately all of his awkwardness melted and he straightened unconsciously. He looked confident, controlled, jet black hair carefully tousled to fall across his face in a carelessly sexy way. A flush crept across Bane's nose and cheeks as he realized the words he had applied to his friend, and he looked at Twitchtip instead, admiring the way the fabric hugged her snugly across the waist and emphasized her petite curvy form.

Twitchtip had eyes only for the darkly handsome man in front of her, but Ares looked between both of the people in the hall. Bane was flushed, it seemed, from the sight of the brunette and indeed she looked gorgeous.

"I'm so excited," Twitchtip said, her voice betraying how nervous she was. "I've never been to anything like this though, are you sure you want me along?"

That's right, Bane realized. Ares was taking his girlfriend with him to his company's Christmas party. Apparently it was a formal affair and he had asked Twitchtip to go with him so he didn't have to be alone.

"Of course," he told her warmly, brushing a finger along the girl's jaw line, making her shiver. She was always so surprised with how intimate he managed to make his slightest gesture. But Bane thought he could see a distant look in the man's dark eyes. He didn't give it a second thought though, because his insides felt like they were being consumed from an inner heat. He was melting and he just wanted to get back to his room and take enough stolen sleep pills to knock him out for a couple precious hours, but dammit they were in his way and if he threw them down the hall like he wanted he would look suspicious and they would hate him and…

"Hang on, lemme grab my wallet and we can go, alright?" With that Ares stepped back into his apartment and Twitchtip turned to smile happily at Bane.

"I'm really anxious about this, all the people and everything," her eyes begged a response but all he could do was give her what he thought was a reassuring smile. "He's really been sweet to me, though so I guess I owe this to him, right?"

"You don't owe anyone anything," Bane snapped, irritated by the thought. Too many damn girls thought they owed someone something. Not that he hadn't taken advantage of that, since the payment was typically sex, but he still thought it was the most asinine thing he'd ever heard of. He especially loathed the idea of Twitchtip subscribing to the same idiotic philosophy. "If you're doing it because you like him, fine, but not because you owe him."

She gave him a confused and somewhat hurt look, clutching the small handbag she was carrying. Normally she would have given him some kind of sarcastic response or scowled or something, but he seemed so serious and angry that she wasn't sure what to say. Seeing her so uncomfortable, he softened and smile a little, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll have a good night, Twitch, go have fun," he squeezed her shoulder affectionately and walked down the hall to his apartment as Ares exited his own. Bane watched the two get into a taxi through his window. Alright, fine, he admitted it. He was jealous. Dammit, he needed to ride in the elevator.

-W..M..W—

As soon as the two walked into the large gala ballroom rented for the event Twitchtip felt horribly insignificant. The room was huge and dripping with crystal chandeliers, music played from the corners and floated through the air along with the smell of food that was more expensive than her apartment's rent.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" she whispered, clinging to Ares's hand like she was about to drown if he weren't holding her. His dark eyes scanned the room, recognizing faces.

"Yeah, this is it," he carefully guided her into the room, and briefly wondered how long he would have to be here before it was alright to flee. "I know it's a bit much but we are the leading alternative record label in the country."

"All of these people work for the same company?" she breathed in awe. The crowd was beginning to make her uncomfortable and even though they had only been in the room for a few minutes she craved fresh air, snowing or not. "I'll be honest I feel really out of place as a high school student."

Ares snorted derisively, "Trust me you're way smarter than half these people. And you're a better person than ninety five percent of them. Don't doubt it."

She shrugged, but smiled a little when he pulled her close.

"They're just normal people, for example…" he murmured in her ear and gestured subtly at a few different people. "That guy pays a woman large sums of money for the pleasure of kissing her feet. The man he's speaking with has a sixteen year old daughter who was on scholarship to go to a fancy catholic school before she was kicked out for being a lesbian. And the woman who's sucking down champagne like it's a lifeline is currently facing charges for stalking an ex's girlfriend."

"You call that normal?" Twitchtip demanded incredulously, but she did loosen up.

"Sweetheart, we _make_ those people look normal," he laughed, and gestured toward the sumptuous tables laden high with fragrant food. "Might as well take advantage of the food while we're here."

Twitchtip actually began to enjoy herself the smallest amount as they sampled the food and made fun of all the overly serious executives and their plastic wives. It was difficult not to enjoy herself around Ares she had found. Then he blanched suddenly in the middle of a sip of wine.

"What?" she whispered, stunned. Was it poisoned or what?

"Shit, they're coming this way," he hissed, wishing he could turn invisible. "No, don't look so obviously. Casually look behind you and to the right. That's my boss and…the head of human resources. I really don't want to talk with them but I don't think we're going to avoid it."

Twitchtip turned ever so slowly, making a show of examining the art hanging on the walls and then she caught her breath. She had the vaguest impression of an imposing stern looking businessman, but even he was overshadowed by the vision of pure glamour beside him.

The woman sauntering next to him and speaking in a melodic voice was beyond Twitchtip's concept of beauty. She wore a vibrant red gown, the thin off the shoulder straps left her shoulders bare and the dress plunged all the way down to her hips in the back. Even with all the skin and the slit up the side of the clinging floor length gown the woman was the picture of elegance. Diamonds glittered in her ears and around her throat and her silvery blonde hair was all swept to one side of her head, cascading into a mass of ringlets and curls.

"I don't think I'll ever look at myself the same again," the girl muttered and turned back to her boyfriend whom she expected to see drooling over the vision of loveliness behind her. Instead she could see that his jaw was clenched and he was exerting a great amount of energy trying to control himself.

"Ares, are you o-"

"Ares, darling," Twirltongue drawled with a perfect smile on her face like Ares was a dear friend she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Twirltongue," he acknowledged with a respectful nod, then turned to face Gorger, the whole reason he had his job. "Sir."

"No need for such formality," the man said with a smile that didn't reach his coal black eyes. "We're all parts of the same machine. Ares, could I have a word with you?"

He acquiesced silently, and Twirltongue stealthily took hold of Twitctip's hand. "You men go talk business, we ladies will wait for you here."

"But, I-" Twitchtip protested, making as if to follow Ares. He gave her an apologetic look, and he was loathe to leave her in the clutches of the high fiend of hell, but Gorger's look was insistent.

"Don't worry your pretty head about it, love," Twirltongue purred, hooking her arm around the younger woman's and steering her away a bit. She took two glasses of champagne from a passing server and handed one to Twitchtip. "Whatever they're talking about is going to be immensely boring. Gorger won't hurt your boyfriend, I promise. So, how do you two know each other?"

"Um, I can't drink this," Twitchtip replied, staring in confusion at the fluke in her hand. "Oh, and we live in the same building."

"Allergic?" the woman questioned curiously, not taking the glass from her.

"No, um," she blushed, embarrassed. "Illegal."

"Oh, don't worry about that, sweetness," Twirltongue said in her silky voice, coolly ignoring the proffered champagne. "You're not going to get in trouble here. You two live in the same building…together?"

"No, not together," the girl's face darkened and even further shade of red. She took a nervous sip of the sparkling sweet liquid and found that she liked it far more than the liquor that she'd had at Ares's apartment. "I moved in a few doors down from him, actually and we got together a little while afterward."

"How interesting, I'm sure you two will make a lovely couple," Twitchtip smiled at the compliment but couldn't help but think there was a note of sarcasm hidden underneath all the honey and sugar. She was about to reply but the blonde woman turned away. "Oh, I apologize, but I believe Gorger is calling me. I'll be right back with your boy, promise."

With that she swept away, hips swaying and her long shapely legs slipping through the slit in her dress. Twitchtip was left standing alone, clutching a glass of champagne that she wasn't sure how to get rid of, and feeling completely disarmed by the woman. As Twirltongue approached the two men and laid a delicate hand on the small of Ares's back to get his attention, the younger woman felt a brief flash of jealousy. She wondered just how much the two interacted at work, then shook the thoughts from her head. Trust was the biggest part of a relationship, right?

"Who's robbing the cradle now, Ares?" Twirltongue murmured in the man's ear as she touched him. Ares jumped slightly, not expecting the contact when he was speaking with Gorger. The man was intimidating to the extreme even when they were discussing inconsequential matters, and Ares had been praying for a reason to excuse himself. Why did the answer to his prayers have to come in the form of Twirltongue? He thought about brushing past her to go back to his date, but she maneuvered herself between the two. Her green eyes flashed up to Gorger, who subtly backed out of the conversation.

"So?" the woman prompted a vengeful look in her eye. "Was the little high school girl really the best you could do after being completely abandoned by the boy you were telling me about?"

Ares's face flushed with anger, and he spat out, "Are you sleeping with everyone because your life is a hollow meaningless shell?"

For the second time since he had met her, Ares had the distinct joy of seeing Twirltongue completely speechless. He thanked all of the hours he spent dwelling on the woman and contemplating the depths of her cruelty for the comeback. He'd wanted to ask her that for a while now, and was glad he had the opportunity.

"You're only ever content when you're making someone's life a living hell. It's like you can't rest until you've broken them down completely," he growled, gaining momentum. "I would suggest it was the result of a bad childhood or something if I wasn't convinced that you're a hell fiend."

For some reason the mention of her childhood made Twirltongue blanch. Ares wondered if he had touched a nerve, and smirked at the idea. The woman quickly composed herself, leaving her face an emotionless mask, eyes colder than a sheet of ice. Then the edges of her mouth twitched into a smile.

"How long have you been dating that adorably clueless little girl?" She wondered aloud.

"None of your business," he spat.

"Hmm…I wonder what that pretty little thing would do if she knew what you were doing about a month ago in our favorite bar?" Twirltongue asked in arch tones. It was Ares's turn to go pale as he remembered-somewhat unclearly-the events of that night. "Oh my, it appears she doesn't know. Perhaps I should inform her. You shouldn't keep secrets from your lovers, Ares."

"You wouldn't dare," he snarled, faking bravado. He was actually quite unnerved at the suggestion. True, he and Twitchtip hadn't actually been dating at the time but it wasn't his greatest moment. Not to mention recounting the story would involve telling Twitchtip why he had been in the bar in the first place. It wouldn't be very difficult to connect the boy he had been pining over with their friend and Ares had been trying to keep the whole thing a secret. He was certain Twitchtip wouldn't take kindly with being the backup plan to Bane, even if that wasn't how he meant it.

"Perhaps I will, perhaps I won't," the woman dragged her fingers down Ares's cheek in an overly familiar manner. He flinched at her touch. She gave him a lazy smile as she turned to leave, completely in control once more. "That all depends on your behavior Ares, darling."

"I'm going to kill that woman some day," Ares swore under his breath, hands clenching into fists.

"What did you say?" The man started as his date came up behind him. Twitchtip looked at him curiously, still holding the glass of champagne that had been foisted upon her.

"Just talking to myself," he replied with a sheepish laugh. His dark eyes fastened on the bubbling liquid in her hand. "Why do you have champagne?"

"Oh, this? Twirltongue gave it to me, and I couldn't decline it politely. Now I can't find anywhere to pour it out or anything…" Twitchtip drifted off as she looked around once more. Her fingers nervously toyed with a lock of her hair that had been left out of her twist. Ares smiled gently at her and took the glass from her hand. He took a brief sip then stopped a passing server and set it on his tray. The man whisked it away immediately. Twitchtip blushed. "Oh."

"Don't worry about it, I wouldn't have known if I hadn't seen someone else do it," Ares told her, putting a possessive arm around her waist like Twirltongue would swoop down out of nowhere and snatch her up. "In about half an hour we can leave without looking too suspicious."

Twitchtip laughed a little at his anxiousness to get away from the uncomfortably extravagant event. She agreed with him though, fancy things like this were not her cup of tea. All it did was make her feel insignificant and she loathed that. Even as nice as Twirltongue had been the woman had still shaken her self esteem to its core. She was obviously very out of place among all of these people no matter what kind of horrible office gossip Ares told her about them. And caviar was nasty. Period.

-W..M..W—

As soon as it was acceptable the two left, slipping away from the party through a side door and hoping no one would notice that they had fled. Ares hailed a taxi and as soon as they got in Twitchtip started ranting about how uncomfortable it had been surrounded by people she wanted to set on fire.

"Stupid shoes," she complained kicking them off and drawing her legs up under herself. "I swear, formal attire just means you put on the most painful things you own and stay in them for longer than necessary. Why would anyone want to do that and then go out with other people who are just judging you by how good you look, and eating food that doesn't taste good but pretending to like it because it's expensive. High society is completely idiotic."

Ares watched her, amused by her sharp gestures and the way she kept trying to brush hair out of her face that just fell back down. "If I had known how much you would hate it I would have let you stay home."

"Oh, no, I didn't mean that," she assured him hurriedly, grabbing his arm. "I just think the event is kind of silly, but I did want to go with you. I'm not upset that I came, I swear."

Certain that she hadn't made her point clear enough and had offended him, her shoulders slumped and she looked down. Ares just shook his head and brushed a few of her chestnut curls away from her face so he could kiss her cheek which then turned red. "Don't worry about it, Twitch, I get it."

"Okay," she turned to give him a smile. "So what did you and your boss talk about?"

"Just work garbage, something about getting my degree," Ares waved his hand vaguely. "I really just think he was reminding me just how much I owed him and trying to scare the hell out of me. It worked. What did uh…you and Twirltongue talk about?"

"Nothing much, just small talk," Twitchtip told him, wondering why he seemed so eager to hear her answer. "Do you two work together much?"

"No, not really," he muttered, looking away from her when he realized he had showed too much interest. He just had to be certain that the conniving woman hadn't said anything to cast him in a bad light or scare the girl. "She'd human resources so we're in completely different departments."

"She's really something isn't she? I've never seen anyone more beautiful than her, and that voice! I could listen to her read from a dictionary and still be fascinated," Twitchtip gushed, now that she was certain Ares wasn't too involved with the woman. "I really can't believe how confident she is. It's like she owns the room she's in, but she was still so nice to me."

"Yeah, she's something else," was all Ares could say and he turned to look out the window. What was the harm in letting her think Twirltongue was something resembling a decent human being? Nothing, he supposed, but he really wanted to speak against her, tell her just how twisted and wrong that woman was. But he was afraid that to do so was to reveal just what a shit fest his life had become recently. Twitchtip was supposed to be his escape from that, his attempt at having a normal life and a normal girlfriend and a normal job. He'd never had any of these things so he was desperate to maintain the imitation he had now.

So what if he was still under the thumb of a vile woman he worked with. So what if his best friend was someone he'd loved and been denied and was steadily becoming more secluded and angry. So what if his girlfriend didn't tell him why she'd been kicked out of both her parents' and her friend's houses. So what if she went through the motions of being affectionate like she had studied them in the early hours of the morning when he lay awake wondering if his choices had just further damned him. So what? He was fine.

Ares internally shook himself. He couldn't go down that road, not here next to Twitchtip, not ever again if he wanted to keep his sanity. It was so tiring to have to drag himself back from the edge like this, he didn't even know why it was so difficult to stay level headed.

"Ares?" he jumped and turned to Twitchtip who gave him an apologetic smile for interrupting his thoughts. "We're here."

He nodded and paid the driver, then escorted his girlfriend up to their floor. As the two stood outside the door to his apartment he wrapped his arms tightly around her, staring deeply into her eyes, trying to unravel all of the mysteries he saw there. Despite passing through the cast iron gates that her eyelashes formed he found himself blocked by a wall that stopped him from going any further. The man sighed, wondering why everything had to be so difficult. He liked Twitchtip, he knew it. He was attracted to her, that much was obvious by how he responded to the soft curves of her body pressed so closely against his. So why did he have this nagging feeling?

Leaning down he placed his lips on hers, pressing softly as she yielded to him. He consciously shut off all of his thoughts, forcing himself into the moment, only allowing himself to take in her smell, her small hands around his neck, and the way their tongues danced across each other. He pushed her against the door and grabbed her hips, and she responded passionately, losing herself for once.

Bane observed them through the peephole in his door, having heard them come down the hall. He had intended to go out and greet them, ask them how their night had been, typical friend things. But this had greeted him. Disgusted he turned away from the door, not caring what the hell they did with themselves anymore, and threw himself onto his bed.

"This is why I fucking hate Christmas."


	17. Super Happy Filler Time Go! No 4

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **Super Happy Filler Time GO! (No 4: A Very Emo Christmas Edition)

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference, drug reference, domestic violence and finally redeeming cutness. Pics of Tonks are up! Also I just realized I have a couple (old) White Lies sketches in my DA scraps. Check 'em out. I might put more up. This was a really fun chapter to write, and I hope you guys enjoy all of the glimpses into the minor characters' lives. As well as a very special surprise appearance at the end!

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W—

Gregor took a deep steadying breath. It was the night before Christmas and he had been invited over to Luxa's house for dinner. He held a bowl of Mrs. Cormaci's famous macaroni and his heart was pounding against his ribcage like it was trying to escape. It wasn't like he hadn't been here before, he reminded himself. Only this was a special occasion and not only that…all of Luxa's family would be there and her grandmother was terrifying.

He knocked on the door, impressed once more by the mansion that Luxa's aunt and uncle lived in. Not two seconds after his hand hit the door it was thrown open by York.

"Gregor!" the man greeted him warmly, pulling him into a swift hug that most likely ruptured several important organs. "Merry Christmas, please come in."

"Merry Christmas, sir," Gregor replied, subtly feeling his ribs and doing a damage assessment. As the boy was steered into the spacious living room with its enormous tree he could smell dinner being prepared and his mouth started to water. This might not be bad at all.

Then he walked into the sitting room and saw the host of people gathered there. Vikus and Solovet sat together, the former telling stories for the amusement of the twins and Chim, the latter leveling her deadly gaze on him the second he entered the room. Stellovet looked up from her cell phone she was texting with and her eyes latched onto him predatorily. She and her cousin Luxa were in a permanent power struggle it seemed and one of the pawns in their competition was Gregor.

"Welcome to our home," she purred as she leapt up to greet him with an overly familiar hug, pressing her body against his so he could feel her ample curves. "If there is anything I can do to make you more comfortable, do not hesitate to ask."

"Aren't I a little young for you?" Gregor muttered into her ear and pulled back a little bit to give her a stiff impersonal hug.

"Stellovet, I am surprised at you!" The brunette boy sighed, the shrill disapproving voice belonged to Stellovet's older brother who was bad enough to deal with during school hours. Howard strode up and wrapped his arm around Gregor's, pulling him in close to his side and putting an arm around his shoulders. "Throwing yourself at our guest. Such behavior is contemptible."

_He says, both arms on me and no breathing room between us_, Gregor reflected, _what a hypocrite_. The boy slipped out of the grasp of the elder, having had plenty of experience escaping Howard's attentions. Unfortunately he wasn't looking where he was going as he backed away from the now bickering siblings and he bumped into the arm of the loveseat where Solovet was sitting with her husband.

"Ah, Gregor," she greeted with fake warmth, dark violet eyes gleaming like the steel of the multiple blades he knew she had on her person. "We were just talking about how many pieces I would cut you into if you dared touch a single strand of hair on my granddaughter."

"_Solovet_," her sister scolded. Miravet turned to Gregor with a smile and patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Just ignore her, Gregor, she's all talk."

He nodded, thankful for the rescue and darted off into an empty hallway to seek solace from the chaos in the other room. Gregor was used to quiet Christmases and quiet houses in general. Luxa's family was extensive and it was difficult for him to deal with so many people who wanted so many things from him or just wanted him to go away. They weren't all bad of course, not like Stellovet and Howard, but it was still quite overwhelming for him. Sometimes he wondered if it was worth dealing with all of this just to date a girl who wouldn't let him get past second base, no matter how awesome she was.

As he caught his breath Luxa entered the hallway from the kitchen area where she had been assisting her aunt. "Gregor? What are you going here?"

"I believe we are here for the same reasons," Nerissa spoke from a shadowed doorway before Gregor had the chance to answer his girlfriend. The boy jumped like he had seen a ghost, which was actually a fairly accurate description of what the emaciated teenager looked like.

"And what would that be, Nerissa?" the short haired girl asked, standing next to Gregor.

"To be away from our dearest cousins," the teenager replied and swept from the hall, supposedly to find another hiding place. Luxa chuckled quietly and slipped her arms around her boyfriend's waist.

"Perhaps they are a bit strange or overbearing sometimes," she observed quietly. "But they are family. Thank you for coming despite everything, Gregor, Merry Christmas."

She pulled him close to her and laid a gentle kiss on his lips. He let his eyes fall closed as he held her and kissed back. Yes, he decided, it was worth it.

-W..M..W-

Bane put out his cigarette on the window sill and tossed the butt down to the street below. Then he replaced the screen in the window and pulled it closed, shivering at the last gust of wind that slipped through. He had found recently that if he knocked out the screen and hung out his window he could smoke without setting off the alarms and thus get around the building's no smoking policy. Normally he wouldn't have bothered but for the past few days he had been in self imposed exile to avoid Ares and Twitchtip. He was quickly running out of food, but figured he could just go shopping around four in the morning when they were sure to be asleep.

Everything would have been fine if they hadn't started pestering him about Christmas. Stupid holiday shit. They kept urging him to participate in whatever they were doing despite his not wanting to be a third wheel. He might have accepted had it not been holiday garbage. He couldn't stand the holidays and liked to pretend they weren't happening, and told them as much. They kept on with the delusion that if he just came out with them his animosity toward the season would dissipate.

No amount of holiday cheer or heartwarming friendship could change his mind, though, and he had hidden himself away in an effort to avoid getting in a serious fight with either of them. Telling Ares that he could go fuck himself had been bad enough. For the most part they respected his wishes to be left alone, but every once in a while one of them would knock on his door and ask if he was okay. He would ignore them until they got obnoxious and then inform them that he wouldn't be coming out until the whole debacle was over.

His nicotine craving abated the boy fell back into his bed, gathering his multiple comforters around him. Like always when he was alone the boy was clad only in boxers, and relished the warmth. This was how he always got past Christmas, spending it in bed and letting the stupid world turn around him.

Twitchtip and Ares were probably out doing irritating couples things like ice skating or seeing each others' families or making cookies. Mmm…cookies. No, he was supposed to be angry. Stupid Ares. Stupid Twitchtip. Having fun when he was stuck here hiding from his past. But still…cookies.

Bane's mother had made the best cookies during Christmas time, all covered in red and green sugar or filled with chocolate chips. The few holidays with her he could remember she went all out with the food, preparing a veritable banquet for the three of them. His fifth Christmas they'd splurged and got a real tree, small though it was, and the whole house had smelled like pine. Until his father got home, then the whole house had smelled like alcohol, as usual.

It hadn't taken him long to find things wrong with his household, and he began criticizing like he always did. The tree made everything smell disgusting. The food wasn't finished fast enough. Those presents are such a waste, why bother for such a useless piece of baggage like Bane. Finally Goldshard had enough, she dropped what she was preparing and turned to start berating the man. Bane had hidden under the table, hands over his eyes pretending he couldn't hear anything.

Somehow the fight had escalated to the point of blows and Snare had grabbed the small four foot fully decorate Christmas tree and swung it at his wife. Ornaments shattered and pine needles flew everywhere, the woman screamed and the cookies in the oven began to burn. A few weeks later it was revealed that the trauma had caused Goldshard to miscarriage for the second time.

Bane remembered seeing her on the floor of the bathroom, tears running down her face, clutching her stomach and rocking back and forth. He had gone to comfort her, patting her shoulders, kissing her face and brushing his fingers through her long golden hair but she had been inconsolable. Finally he gave up and began crying himself, holding her close and wishing they could run away.

The pale teenager buried his face into his pillow, squeezing his eyes shut as they flooded with tears. That had been his last Christmas, his last sibling lost, and two months later his parents were both dead and he was put into an orphanage. Bane pulled the comforter over his head and put his hands over his ears. It had been fourteen years but he could still hear them screaming.

-W..M..W-

Twirltongue pressed the ignore button on her cell phone. It was the second call she had gotten that day from some distant relative probably trying to wish her a Merry Christmas. The woman had dissociated herself from the family she had left when she was young. She had no desire to know those people and they certainly had no right to know her.

She shrugged the fur lining of her coat up closer to her face letting the strands of fur catch her breath and warm her face. Tiny snowflakes drifted from the grey sky, but she ignored them as they caught on her pale blonde hair. Twirltongue scowled and looked up and down the street once more, furious that the man dared keep her waiting out in the cold like this. It was important though, she reminded herself, and he was coming out on Christmas day as a special favor to her.

"Hey, Twirly," a man, similarly bundled in coats and scarves, called to her from behind. She turned to give him a scathing look. "Merry Christmas."

"You know I hate when you call me that, Gushgore," the woman told him as they began walking down the sidewalk toward her apartment. He just smirked at her and shrugged a little.

"Full of holiday spirit, I see," he observed as they stepped into the warmth of the lobby. Twirltongue shed her coat and handed it to the doorman, but Gushgore kept his. The man was probably in his late thirties and had a few strands of grey running through his brown hair. He had nondescript features and his clothes were of much lower quality than Twirltongue's. The two companions stepped onto the elevator. "You're lucky the wife wanted me to step out and pick up something for dinner or I wouldn't have been able to make it here."

"Nonsense," Twirltongue said, unlocking the door to her penthouse. Gushgore had been there a few times before but he was still in awe of the gorgeous view the enormous living room windows provided. "You would have found some excuse to deliver me my…present."

"I dunno, have you been a good little girl?" the man laughed, knowing full well that she hadn't. Twirltongue laughed as well, and began rifling about in her closet for the stash of cash that she kept in a lockbox. Gushgore extracted a small plastic bag from one of the inner pockets of his coat.

"How are your daughters?" Twirltongue asked, not particularly interested.

"Doing well, although the youngest keeps getting in trouble at school," he replied, handing over the bag full of white powder for his client to examine.

The silver blonde woman carefully weighed the bag in her palm and handed him a stack of twenties which he quickly counted. "Like father, like daughter, I suppose."

"It's always a pleasure doing business with you, Twirltongue," he told her with a smile as he pocketed the wad of cash.

"Yeah, yeah, now get out of my apartment," she ordered lazily as she sat down on her couch. Gushgore nodded and waved a goodbye as he left the woman to her own self destruction. Twirltongue pulled out a hidden drawer on her coffee table and set it on top. The remnants of previous use were scattered across the flat surface and there were a few razor blades and paper rolls on the side.

The woman poured a trickle of the powder onto the mirrored inside of the drawer and separated it into a few straight lines. Within moments the substance had disappeared and Twirltongue was carefully dabbing the moisture from her eyes. She chuckled gently as the drug worked its way through her system and set fire to her insides.

"Merry Christmas to _me._"

-W..M..W-

"What a bastard," the man growled as he unlocked the door to his small apartment. He was referring to his boss who had only let him take Christmas Day off if he agreed to work the ten to four shift. Ripred worked as security during the day and was a bouncer for clubs and bars at night, making it difficult to spend any time with his daughter. Which was why it was so imperative he get to have all day tomorrow with her. Or rather, the rest of today.

The man stepped into the house and turned off the burglar alarm he had installed specifically for his daughter's safety when he was away since he couldn't afford a babysitter constantly. As he opened the door to his little girl's room the careworn face softened. He sat down on the edge of her bed and brushed a strand of brown hair from her face. "Wake up, sweetheart."

"Daddy?" she asked, groggy with sleep as she turned to look at him. Her eyes focused on her father's face and she grinned with happiness. "Daddy!"

His arms wrapped around her as she flung herself at him. "Merry Christmas, Silksharp. I got you a present."

"Really?" the five year old's eyes were wide with excitement.

"Of course," he said handing her a small wrapped cube. Silksharp tore into the wrapping. As she did so her father drawled, "It's nothing special, and I can understand if you'd prefer say…a doll or something."

The little girl gave him an exasperated look and shook her head rapidly. She finally unwrapped the present to discover a small electric cube with multiple different puzzle settings, a replacement to the Rubix Cube she had finished a few weeks prior. She squealed with delight and threw herself at her father once more, showering him with kisses and affection.

Ripred held her close, breathing in the smell of her hair and rocking her back and forth. If only the girl's mother could be there to see how beautiful she was growing up to be, but the woman had died three years ago. "We're going to spend all day together tomorrow, okay?"

Silksharp nodded happily, nestling into his chest. "Can we go to the playground?"

"It's snowing, Silksharp," he told her. The little girl looked up at him with wide puppy dog eyes and he sighed. "How about I take you sledding in Central Park instead?"

"Alright," she replied as a yawn split her tiny face. Ripred laid her down and pulled the covers up to her chin.

"Then we'll go look at all the big Christmas trees they have out, and find Christmas lights to look at," he murmured, stroking her face. Silksharp smiled and closed her eyes and held her stuffed rat close to her. Within moments she had drifted asleep.

Ripred laid down on the small twin bed next to his daughter, looking sadly at her peaceful soft face. She strongly resembled her mother, and the older she grew the more she looked like the woman he had lost. The girl was growing up well despite not having a mother and her father being absent, but he knew it was just a matter of time before she needed something more. Before he needed something more.


	18. There Will Never Be a Threesome

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **There Will Never Be a Threesome

**Chapter Rating: **PG-15 (Seriously kids)

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference(aka sex), alcohol use, FGAL, and inside jokes. I was asked if I would be putting any of my OCs in here and I think this is probably the only chapter with my OCs in it or mentioned (besides CSG), and one of them is my RP character that you guys probably don't even know about. Also, there's a sex scene here, but it's pretty abstract because I'm not wicked fantastic at them. So it's not really M just…watch it. If you guys are cool with what's there then great. God knows I'd seen my share of it when I was 13/14. If you'd prefer more or less detail let me know, I guess.  
This is now officially the longest thing I've ever written and I feel a pat on the back is well deserved for everyone reading this that's kept me going for so long.

Oh and I'm leaving for Florida today. I won't be posting again till Wednesday so I went ahead and put this up early. Yay!

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

"Apparently this woman throws the most spectacular invitation only New Years Eve parties," Ares explained. Twitchtip was laid out across his lap comfortably and Bane was sitting on the floor next to the couch sucking on a left over candy cane. "Or at least that's what she's known for in the alternative social scene."

"How alternative are we talking here?" Bane asked with a lascivious grin. "Like half naked girls hanging from ceilings and an S&M room?"

Twitchtip turned bright red at the thought and looked desperately at Ares for him to tell her it wasn't like that. The dark haired man sighed and shook his head. "Nothing like that. Think alternative like Goths geeks freaks and the like. Nike is the one who got us on the invitation list so it wouldn't be anything that crazy."

Bane sighed and set his head on his hand. "Pity, I could go for some real excitement. I guess I'll go, though, not like there's anything else to do."

Ares smiled at his friend, thankful that the dark mood possessing him during the holidays had passed. He had been worried that it would be permanent and despite the many assurances to the contrary, Ares assumed he was the cause of it. Bane wouldn't respond to any of his questions about why he was so averse to the holiday season just told him to mind his own business. Even though Bane was more his usual self recently Ares had noticed that the boy was much more removed from him ever since he started dating Twitchtip.

Normally Bane didn't hesitate to come over to Ares's apartment unannounced but now he had to be cajoled and convinced. He wasn't nearly as spontaneous and hadn't actually had physical contact with Ares since he found out he and Twitchtip were dating. The pale boy was withdrawn and thoughtful now, and seemed to prefer being alone to being with his friends. And yet he denied that his friends dating upset him in the slightest.

"Kay, so we'll meet up here at nine to go to the party?" Twitchtip clarified. After receiving a nod from Ares she asked, "Do we have to dress up?"

"No more than normal," he replied with a shrug. "Although keep in mind it's a party for the underground crowd. So everyone'll most likely look like when we went to see The Stingers."

Bane smirked, now that he wasn't chasing after Twitchtip's skirts, maybe he'd be able to get a piece of hot skanky emo girl. They were always easy to convince. He turned his eyes away as Twitchtip leaned up to plant a small kiss on Ares's chin. It was hard enough being around the two of them when they weren't being affectionate but they'd gotten worse and worse recently as Twitchtip became comfortable with the idea of having a boyfriend.

If he were honest with himself Bane would have said that he was just barely holding himself together. But he wasn't honest, afraid that if he acknowledged his own weakness he wouldn't be able to pretend everything was fine for his friends. Sure, Ares had noticed a few changes in his personality, but that was easily explained away. No matter how you looked at it, being so physical with Ares like he had been was just weird, right? Bane wasn't the most well versed in social norms but he at least had the common sense to know it wasn't appropriate to have tickle fights with a guy who had a girlfriend. He kind of missed it though.

Mostly because restraining himself from attacking Ares meant he didn't get to steal the older man's cigarettes. The price of buying his own again was starting to add up. That was it.

-W..M..W-

Persephone was a well known figure in the alternative scene of New York, especially among the younger crowd. The queen of the underworld, people called her half in jest and half seriously. The woman was a legend, and she was also Athena's youngest half sibling, which was how Nike got her invitation to the New Year's Eve party.

The party was held in the mansion of Persephone's husband, and had nearly two hundred people in attendance. Loud industrial music thrummed through the house, and everywhere people writhed and danced to the beat.

Twitchtip hung onto the arm of her boyfriend so she didn't get torn away in the crowd, and gawked at all of the people she saw around her. In a green top with a fishnet overlay and pants that had buckles all up the sides of them, Ares was far from the strangest person there. Bane had put in his little worn lip piercings for the event, and wore the t-shirt he'd bought at his birthday concert as well as black cargo pants and what looked to be a leather dog collar.

Ares felt a small wave of nostalgia as he observed the party goers, remembering when he had constantly been at these gatherings because Henry had dragged him. He'd had fun some nights, but he couldn't say he truly missed it, greatly preferring concerts to the excuses to drink in excess that parties normally were. When he reflected upon it the fact that he picked up most of his girlfriends (or boyfriends) at events like this probably contributed to the fact that they never worked out.

The white haired boy grinned as he looked around him. Before he had found distraction in the form of Ares and Twitchtip most of his nights were spent at places like this. Surrounded by people and music and mind altering substances it didn't matter that he couldn't handle normal social situations, nor did his reputation at school, and his past was the last thing on his mind. He'd weaseled out of Ares that the man was no stranger to parties and as he watched the mass of people Bane wondered if they'd ever been at the same one. Had they crossed each others' paths and never noticed?

"Better than the Christmas party?" Ares asked his girlfriend who hadn't let up her vice like grip on his arm. Twitchtip stared at a slender girl with a leather surgical mask and emerald green hair as she walked past.

"Well, I don't feel insignificant," she replied, eyes widening as the same girl stepped on top of an end table and began a seductive undulating dance. "And the music is sure as hell better."

Ares was about to say something else but a girl hurled herself through the crowd and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind screaming, "Ares!"

The man turned to see the poor creature his girlfriend was about to completely obliterate and saw Nike, dressed head to toe in black and white, clinging onto him with glee. Ares raised a hand to Twitchtip's shoulder to keep her from pouncing on his friend in anger. "Hey, Nike. Glad to see you found us."

"Hello, girlfriend," the girl greeted happily, then caught sight of Bane to the other side of Ares. "And the girly albino boy!"

Neither looked very fond of being addressed in such a manner. Bane looked away from the young woman, he wasn't sure why but he didn't feel like seeing her, especially seeing her attached to Ares like a leech. Twitchtip seemed equally as annoyed by what she thought was overly familiar behavior.

"Guys, this is my old friend Nike. My girlfriend's name is Twitchtip, and you've already met Bane," the dark haired man gestured at the two as he said their names and began extricating himself from the hug.

"Yeah, yeah, sounds fantastic," Bane said, not really hearing the words, just his name. He glanced around for a distraction. "Look, I'd love to stay and chat but I have to go stalk the girl in the leather corset."

Nike's eyes followed the boy as he disappeared into the crowd and a thought occurred to her. "Since you two are here together, that means he's single, right?"

"Not your type, Nike," Ares warned.

Twitchtip watched him go, hoping he really was chasing some fetish girl and not just trying to get away from them. Ares wasn't the only one who had noticed the change in their white haired friend and she wasn't sure whether or not she should be worried. Lost in her thoughts she didn't notice Nike lean in close to Ares and murmur, "Possessive much?"

-W..M..W-

The boy wandered through the enormous house, drinking a little, smoking a little and generally partaking in everything offered, but feeling that something very important was missing. He had in fact been chasing after a pretty girl in a cherry red corset but lost her in the crowd and couldn't be bothered to find her again. As Bane went from room to room, sometimes dancing with an attractive stranger, sometimes just watching, he tried to figure out what exactly he was looking for.

He was so distracted that he didn't notice the woman sneak up behind him until he felt the cold press of steel against the side of his neck. "Don't you dare move," she said in a husky voice, full lips just a hair's breadth from his ear.

"That's not a knife," he informed her coldly, but he didn't turn until the metal was removed.

"How can you tell? Been threatened with knives that often?" She asked, giving him a skeptical look. The woman had jet black hair, the front half of which was dyed blood red. She was wearing a black top that laced up the back and cut off halfway down her stomach. The metal feeling she had used to try and intimidate him came from the spikes protruding from the knuckles of her fingerless leather gloves.

"More than you'd think," Bane replied. Then she smirked, and immediately he recognized her. "Sli? Holy hell is that really you?"

"In the flesh," she replied with a grandiose gesture, then put her hands on her hips. "Where've you been, Bane? I haven't seen you at the old haunts for ages."

"Changed schools again," he told her, red eyes roving up and down her body. Two years ago he had met this woman at a concert where she'd punched him in the face in the pit. Then she had been a scrawny tomboy who had just turned eighteen and had yet to grow into her own. Their fondness for loud music, sharp objects and violence had brought them together then almost as close as he and Ares were now. "You've…grown."

"Hah. Grown a figure, you mean," she sneered and gave him an affectionate punch in the arm that was sure to leave a bruise. "I know what you're looking at you little perv. But you've changed too. It seems like just yesterday you were a skinny little bastard raging at the establishment and now look at you. They grow up so fast."

"Don't get all emotional on me, Sli," he warned her giving her a gentle shove. It didn't take long for him to get back into their habit of showing affection with aggression. He was about to ask after a few of their mutual acquaintances when the music suddenly cut off and a voice announced that it was thirty seconds to midnight.

As they listened to the woman count down the seconds Bane thought he could see the beginnings of a plan forming behind Slicer's acid green eyes. He could have been reading it wrong, but he decided to beat her to it. Right when the voice got to five, Bane grabbed the woman by her wrist and pulled her toward him, crushing his lips against hers. Slicer responded with a passion that startled him, confirming his suspicions that she had intended to kiss him at midnight. As their tongues danced together and her teeth grazed his lips, they crossed the threshold into the next year.

They drew away from each other, both examining the other with a thoughtful look. "You wanna ditch this place?" The words came out of Bane's mouth before he even thought them through, but Slicer nodded, lacing her fingers in his.

They threaded their way through the crowd on the way to the door, but the pale boy stopped when he saw his friends. He jerked his head in their direction and Slicer followed him. Ares looked up and seemed confused by Slicer's presence.

"Hey, Ares, we're going back to the apartment, okay?" Bane said, more of a statement than a question. He would have added more, and it looked like Ares had a lot of questions but Slicer wasn't the most patient person in the world. She reached up and hooked her fingers through the collar Bane wore and smirked at Twitchtip and her boyfriend.

"I'll be borrowing him for the night," she informed them haughtily. "Hope you don't mind."

With that she strode off, dragging the much taller boy along with her. He gave a half wave toward his friends along with a slightly apologetic shrug. Ares and Twitchtip exchanged glances, neither knowing quite how to react to what had just happened. The man was sad to see Bane go, and felt a stirring of jealousy in his heart because he knew exactly what they were going to do. Ares turned back to his girlfriend and suddenly kissed her, reminding himself just who he was with. Who cared what Bane did with bizarre masculine women. Certainly not he.

-W..M..W-

"When did you get these?" Slicer asked, gently tapping the silver rings on Bane's bottom lip. She was straddling his lap, her other hand threaded in his hair. The boy waited a few minutes to catch his breath before answering, twisting her black hair in his fingers and vaguely noticing that Ares's was softer.

"For my eighteenth birthday. Figured I was old enough to mutilate my body in the name of self-expression and I had some extra cash."

"I like them," she said simply. Then she closed her eyes, dark lashes brushing her cheeks. Finally she slid off of her companions lap to sit on the couch next to him. "Sorry. I don't think I can do this."

Bane shrugged and let her hair fall from his hand, out of curiosity he asked, "Why?"

"It's a pretty bad idea for friends to sleep together," Slicer replied, tracing spirals and flowers on the fabric of his pants.

"No way," he said, waving his hand. "It always works out for me. Name one time having a one night stand with a friend was a bad idea."

"How about Terrormaw?" she prompted, poking him in the ribs. "Didn't she try to tell you she was pregnant so you'd marry her?"

Bane shivered at the memory, pregnancy scares were nothing to joke about and sixteen was the wrong age to worry about something like that. He was glad he'd managed to avoid her. "But she was crazy," he pointed out.

"I'm crazy too, you know," Slicer said and gave him her best manic grin, eyes wide and gleaming. He just laughed.

"But you're crazy in that 'one day I'm going to snap and plant a bomb in the middle of Times Square' kind of way," he told her. The two of them had come back to his apartment and kissed for several minutes before Slicer's hesitance showed. Bane didn't mind, really, but he wanted to see if he could get rid of his unreasonable resentment toward Ares and Twitchtip by finding someone to distract him.

"Hah, thanks…I think," she responded uncertainly. He gazed at the raven haired woman calculatingly.

"That's not all, is it?" the boy asked, then his voice grew dramatic, filled with fake accusation. "Is there someone else? There's someone else, isn't there, you harlot!"

The woman laughed at his antics, but slowly nodded. "Yeah actually, there kind of is."

"Lucky bastard. Tell Bane why he is so awesome that you can't make a bad decision at one in the morning on New Year's Eve," he demanded.

"His name's Striker, I met him a couple months ago and he's pretty cool," she said, messing with the red strands of hair to avoid looking at her old friend and showing him just how soft she had gotten. "He's kind of oblivious, but I think that I love him. So, it just doesn't feel right to mess around with you even though the two of us aren't actually dating. Yet."

Bane stroked her head reassuring the girl that he wasn't judging her no matter how silly she sounded. The two of them hadn't believed in love when they were younger, just infatuation and sex and getting what you wanted. Now it seemed they had both been caught thinking and doing things they hadn't considered before. It came out as a whisper, but she could still hear it in the silence.

"How do you know he's the one you love?

"I just can't get him out of my head, you know," she shrugged and looked up at her friend, catching a gleam of realization in his red eyes. A sly smile crept onto her features. "It's like he freaking lives there, and he won't even pay the rent. So…whos your someone else, Bane?"

"I don't have a someone else," he was quick to correct her, but didn't look at her face when he spoke. He wasn't sure what he would have found if he looked into her emerald eyes but he felt that they knew too much. More than he knew even.

"Bullshit," she sneered. The boy received a pinch in the side for what she perceived as his lie. "You're acting way different than you used to. You would've laughed at me two years ago and now you're just quiet and pensive. The hell are you hiding Bane? You were acting all awkward around your friends before. Was it one of them? Was it the girl or the boy?"

Bane flushed red to the very tips of his hair and growled at her for the insinuation that he might be interested in a boy. His blush made the snarl much less intimidating though and he settled for spitting out an answer. "They're together, Sli."

"Even better," she grinned, showing off her pointed canines. "They were good looking. That'd make a pretty bitchin' threesome-"

"Sli-" he snapped, and would have continued scolding her but she cut him off too.

"See, you would've laughed back then," Slicer informed him critically. She straddled him once more, but this time it wasn't a sensual act. The woman took his face in her hands so that he couldn't look away. "There's something serious going on there, between you and one of them."

"I don't want to talk about it," Bane said softly, averting his eyes since he couldn't move his head.

"Fine," she sighed, letting his face go. "Seriously, though Bane, if there's one thing I've learned it's that you have to go after what you want. That's why next time I see that asshole Stri I'm going to pin him down and inform him that he belongs to me whether he likes it or not."

"I wish I had your bravery," he murmured regretfully. "But I think I've missed my chance."

"Ares you kidding? I'm scared as hell," Slicer laughed and hugged her friend roughly. He accepted her embrace readily, curling his face into her neck like he could hide from it all. As they sat with each other quietly he heard what sounded like a rather intoxicated Twitchtip and Ares come down the hall. They spoke for a moment, their words muffled by the door, and then he heard the door to Ares's apartment open and close. He didn't hear Twitchtip's door, and Slicer felt him scowl.

The woman patted him on the head and gave him a sympathetic smile and a chaste kiss on the cheek. They spoke together until three in the morning, reminiscing on days gone by then exchanged phone numbers and promises to get in touch, despite the fact that neither really believed they would. Then Slicer left her friend to crawl into bed alone, pretending someone was there to keep him warm but knowing he would wake up in the morning with no one there.

-W..M..W-

Ares and Twitchtip left the party about half an hour after Bane. They were both somewhat inebriated, Twitchtip more so because of her far lower alcohol content and spent the cab ride home debating whether or not their friend was finished with the strange woman he had apparently picked up. Who she was also entered into the conversation, since neither had ever seen her before but she interacted with Bane with such familiarity they decided she was an old friend of this.

This conclusion didn't sit very well with Ares. The woman was just another part of Bane's past that he didn't know and she had dragged the boy away from him with a possessive smirk and thought nothing more of it. He'd wanted to go after them and ask just who she was and what was going on, but he hadn't. Ares had stayed with Twitchtip, because what kind of boyfriend runs off after an old crush? An old, dead crush.

"I'll bet she didn't even stay over," Twitchtip speculated as they entered their apartment, hanging on to each other. The girl sighed. "I wish Bane had better taste in girls. That woman didn't seem like the commitment type, and he doesn't need someone who's going to sleep with him and leave."

Ares stayed silent on the matter of Bane's taste but nodded silently about what the boy needed. He had obviously been left behind before, and needed someone by his side to pull him from whatever dark depths he had descended to.

Twitchtip looked up at Ares as they rode the elevator, and her eyes sparkled happily. Despite the troubles with their friend, she was happy with the relationship she had. It wasn't exactly the fairy tale she'd heard of, but it was still better than expected. She trusted Ares implicitly, like she had never done with anyone before, especially after being cast aside by her parents and friends. Tongue loosened by the alcohol she had consumed, the girl told him so. She emptied all of her thoughts into his ears, and as they stopped in front of his door Ares kissed her like he did every time they said goodnight.

This time was different though. Ares threw his thoughts to the wind and drowned himself in the attention and adoration that this girl gave him. He drank her in, hands wandering and tongue desperately seeking her own. She gasped quietly into his mouth and he knew he had made his mind up. "Would you like to go inside?"

Her breath caught in her throat and there was a buzzing in her head that made it difficult to think. But she knew what he was asking, and Twitchtip nodded, not trusting herself to truly speak.

As he pulled her into the room and laid her down on his couch, Twitchtip found her voice for a few moments.

"Are we going to…?"

"Probably," Ares murmured into her neck as he bent over her. Kissing and caressing her, slowly working off the shirt she was wearing. Twitchtip closed her eyes, unable to look him in the face, and blindly kissed him as she allowed her own hands to stray over his body.

He pulled her on top of him and slipped off her skirt then pulled her in close, breathing in her scent. Skin brushed against hot skin, and their movements became more hurried, more instinctive. Twitchtip's head was full of a fog that made her body move without her giving it permission. Ares sat up for a moment and muttered, "Not here."

The man spared the briefest thought to be grateful that his last check had paid for him to get a real bed. He led her to it, and they both left the rest of their clothing behind as they slipped between the sheets together.

After several long moments of gasping, unexpected pain, and synchronized movements, they lay together silently. Ares closed his eyes to blot out the thoughts that came flooding back, and buried his face in his pillow. Twitchtip curled up into his body, bare skin brushing and making her shiver with the memory of what they had just done. She wanted to say something, but couldn't get the sound out.

So she smiled softly and wrapped her arm around her lover. She held him as he drifted to sleep.


	19. Never Be Right For Me

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **Never Be Right For Me [Still I Wanna Kiss You]

**Chapter Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for (homo)sexual reference, some non-con(sent),

A.K.A. The 'Are you guys happy now?' chapter. 'Nuff said. The fact that I posted this on my birthday (18th) is purely coincidental I swear. Another song lyric for the title. The last line is my favorite so far.

By the way: This whole story is pretty much a manual for how _**not**_ to go about your love life. I thought I should mention that. Seriously.

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

Twitchtip woke the next day when the cold beams of sunlight trickled into the room and danced across her bare flesh. Her eyes fluttered open, and for a moment she was terrified, in a strange bed and unsure what she had done the previous night. The slight pressure between her temples reminded her that she'd drunk more than her fair share at the…New Year's party. That was it. She sat up, brushing the clinging strands of hair from her face, and rubbed her eyes, further smudging her makeup.

Someone stirred next to her and she turned to see Ares clutching at his pillow, wrapped in all of the blankets he had stolen during the night. Memories of the previous night flashed through Twitchtip's mind and she blushed as she looked at the naked man next to her. Standing up and stretching, she snatched up a button up shirt that he had left on the floor and pulled it on, then walked into the kitchen. She couldn't believe what had happened. There was no regret, just shock and surprise and a vague sense of being lost.

What happened now? Why had last night happened in the first place? Her stomach growled quietly and with a soft smile she decided what happened now. The fridge wasn't very well stocked, but it had enough to prepare something small for breakfast for the both of them. It was closer to lunch, actually, she realized with a glance at the clock. Damn, it was late, she was supposed to take her medication in the morning but she shrugged it off as something to do when she got back in her room. A couple hours wasn't enough to cause a relapse.

Ares woke up to the smell of spinach omelets, and after throwing on a shirt and pants, he strode into the kitchen. For a few moments he watched his girlfriend, wearing his shirt and preparing breakfast, with a smile on his face. This was a unique experience, normally he was the one in the kitchen no matter who he'd gone to bed with the night before. He walked up behind her and gave her a small kiss on the cheek, "Thanks, Twitch."

"No problem," she replied, practically beaming, as she slid his omelet onto a plate. They ate quietly, each lost in their thoughts, but words weren't necessary after what had happened the night before. Twitchtip felt that she had finally found a reason behind what they had done; such an intimate act had to come from a place of love, right? She wasn't completely naïve, she knew that some people could have sex with no attachment, but she didn't feel that Ares was one of those people. Maybe Bane and that strange girl had done it just for fun, but this had to be different.

Ares could see the young woman sneaking glances his way, but the more awake he got the more afraid he was of the consequences of his actions. Why had last night happened? He wasn't that drunk, he'd just felt alone, and wanted to be close to someone. Well, he'd gotten close. Probably too close, but Twitchtip was a big girl, she could deal with this. She seemed to be doing well so far, not upset or irrational.

After they finished eating the brunette stood with a stretch and went to put her clothes from last night. Ares followed her to the door and rested his hands on her hips as she said, "I should probably get going."

"Probably," he agreed, quietly. He rested his forehead on hers, not wanting her to leave. Part of it was that he genuinely enjoyed her company. The other was that when she left the comfortable quiet little bubble around them would burst and everything would become real. He'd be forced to deal with life again. With work and loneliness and watching that girl come out of Bane's room.

"I had a good time," Twitchtip murmured, not completely certain of what she was supposed to say in this situation. Then she gathered her courage for what she did want to say. "I…think I love you."

Ares was frozen as she gave him a kiss and left, too nervous to hear his answer that wasn't going to come anyway. As she exited the apartment she let out a huge sigh of relief. Looking up she noticed Bane coming down the hall, wearing his trench coat and the smell of cigarette smoke.

"You're up early," she observed cheerfully.

"I should say the same to you," he grumbled, feeling it too early to deal with this conversation. He gestured at Ares's door. "Spend the night over there, then?"

"Yes," Twitchtip replied with a blush. Suddenly she had the overwhelming urge to divulge what had happened. Sure it probably wasn't his business, but she was happy, and she didn't really have any other friends to speak of. Then a thought occurred to her. "Is that girl still in your apartment?"

"Who? You mean Slicer?" he asked quizzically, tilting his head to the side. Bane couldn't imagine why the girl was asking after Sli. He really just wanted to leave, not liking the reminder that he'd had to sleep alone last night while his friends got to curl up and revel in each other's warmth. At least nothing else had happened between them. "She left around three, had to see her little boyfriend today or something. And could you tone down the glowing smile? It's hurting my eyes."

Twitchtip wasn't sure what to make of that piece of information, but decided to ignore it in favor of responding to his latter comment. "I think it's permanent."

"Oh joy," he sneered with a roll of his red eyes. Then he stiffened as the girl embraced him, shining her smile up at him.

"I think I'm in love," she gushed. "I'm sorry, I just had to tell someone. I…we…last night-it was just amazing. I never thought…"

She trailed off into silence, too overwhelmed to continue, her face radiating a contentment that Bane couldn't believe existed. His face twisted into a scowl, resentment that he could no longer contain building. His stomach twisted and it felt like his heart was trying to pump fire instead of blood. He tried to say something but he was choked, strangled. So that's what they had been doing last night.

His two best friends, the people he had grown to depend on and almost trusted before this. They were sleeping together, loving each other, leaving him in their dust. Once again Bane was left behind to fend for himself while everyone else went on with their perfect little lives. Because he was just stupid, pitiful Bane, not deserving of anyone's attention, just a placeholder to be discarded. It was just like the foster homes, the almost adoptions, when he didn't fit into their flawless plan they took him back like a defective toy. But that was fine, he had been taking care of himself for longer than he could remember. He felt the urge to throw up.

"Bane?" Twitchtip's voice was quavering, she stepped back from him, pressing against the wall. His expression was scaring her, so warped by rage and bitterness it bared no resemblance to the boy who laid in her lap or laughed at her jokes. "Bane, what's wrong?"

"Why couldn't it be me?" he forced the words out through clenched teeth, almost a sob, but not quite. "Why do you two have to be so fucking blind all of the time? Why can't I have anything?"

A bloody haze clouded his sight like the red tinge of his eyes had obstructed his vision. Twitchtip was flat against the wall, fingers scrambling at the concrete like she could dig an escape route, eyes wild. She tried to say something, wanted to find somewhere to run, but Bane pressed a hand to her mouth. He closed the gap between them, pinning her slender form against the wall.

"Why are you afraid of me?" he hissed into her ear, and she felt all of the breath leave her system. Black spots swam in front of her eyes, and she thought she might pass out. "Am I that terrifying? I'm not a monster."

And he kissed her. Not gently like she was used to from Ares, who kissed her as if he was afraid she might break, or even passionately like when the man lost himself. It was vicious, invasive, desperate, and as he twisted his tongue in her mouth she was stunned to feel tears run down his face. Hands pressed against her body with bruising force, and she began to cry too, mingling with his.

In the brief moment that he pulled his face away from hers, Twitchtip's fist connected with his jaw. Her other hand shoved him off of her, his body limp with shock as he raised a shaking hand to his face, gingerly touching the place she had struck. The girl gathered all of her fury and contempt and hurt into one devastating look that she shot at him before fleeing to her room, slamming and locking the door. She collapsed onto the bed wondering why anything good in her life had to degenerate into something terrible.

She left Bane standing in the middle of the hall, tiny rivers coursing down his cheeks, nursing a bruised jaw. It only took a few brief seconds for the shock from her counterattack to wear off and the realization of his own deeds struck him. He stumbled into his apartment, nearly blinded by his distress.

-W..M..W-

Ares hated the phrase 'I love you.' For some people those three words encompassed the end all be all of emotion, and for others it was an easy way to get someone out of their clothes. For Ares he had sworn never to say it unless he really meant it, but seemed to fall for someone without ever looking at what lay at the bottom of the cliff he dove from. He'd had partners break up with him for saying it if they didn't feel the same way, or just didn't want to deal with the responsibility it entailed. Ares had always hated those people. What they did was the equivalent of taking his heart, tearing it into pieces and then handing the shreds back to him to put together.

Yet that's what he felt he had to do. I think I love you, she had said. But the more he thought about it and analyzed it, face buried in his hands, the closer he came to the realization that he didn't. He liked Twitchtip, and he liked her a lot, but he liked her in the way that he enjoyed the omelet she'd made that morning.

She partially filled a hole he had inside of him, and she was warm and he would crave her company sometimes. But he didn't think she liked him on an omelet level, far from it in fact. Probably something completely unrelated to food as well. Ares rubbed his head in frustration, further messing up his sleep mussed hair.

What did one do when someone loved you and you didn't love them back? Was leaving the only option? Or should he wait and try to fall in love with her. It had only been a few months, maybe it would grow. Or maybe he had made an enormous mistake by sleeping with Twitchtip before he'd been certain he would stay with her, that he loved her. After all she was still just a girl, completely inexperienced in such matters. Maybe he'd ruined everything, maybe—

His self reflection was shattered as he heard a door slam closed, then he heard another one shut almost as heavily. It sounded close. Bane's door? Puzzled, he stood up and exited his apartment, looking down the hall for some kind of clue as to what had happened while he was busy brooding. Ares took a few hesitant steps toward his friend's door, the tips of his fingers brushing against the wood as he wondered whether he should knock or not. The brief thought that the girl from the party might still be in the apartment seriously discouraged him, and he turned to leave when he heard it.

Crying. Bane was crying.

Without the slightest bit of hesitation Ares wrenched the door open, the occupant being too distressed to lock it. The pale boy was on his couch, curled into a ball of misery, arms clutching his chest as sobs wracked his body. He looked so frail and broken, like a small child. When Bane looked up and his red eyes met Ares's dark ones, the torment within them made his heart crack, struck by a hammer.

"Bane," he murmured, walking over to the boy on the couch. Ares wrapped his arms around the lanky frame, trying to pull him close. But Bane just kept shaking his head and trying to pull away. "Sweetheart, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Monster," he choked out, his entire body shaking against Ares's. He had finally relented and was pulled into an embrace by the older man, too weak to resist any longer. "Hurt…I hurt…I'm a monster."

"Shh, shh, you've got to calm down," Ares soothed, stroking the white hair comfortingly, but feeling completely lost as to how to help the shattered being in front of him. "Tell me what happened. Who hurt you?"

Bane shook his head, it was difficult for him to breathe, shuddering and bucking with each sob. "No-Twitch-I hurt…she's hurt…I—Monster." He couldn't carry on, too overwhelmed with everything to even form a coherent sentence.

"Twitchtip? What do you mean?" Ares took the boy by the shoulders and forced him to look up, but realized he wouldn't be able to get an answer out of him when he was like this. It cut him deeply that there wasn't anything he could do to help. He kept rubbing the boy's shoulders gently, murmuring into his ear. "Shh, it's okay. You're not a monster, Bane. C'mon, it's okay. Please don't cry. I hate to see you cry."

Bane clung to the man, holding fistfuls of his shirt, and kept stuttering nonsense words and half strung together sentences. Finally, Ares took the boy's head in his hands and tilted it up. Please, stop hurting, he silently pleaded, and then their lips met.

In that moment both men froze, wondering if one of them was going to wake up and destroy the illusion. Ares immediately pulled away, just as surprised as Bane at what had happened. He thought about apologizing, wondering if he could pass it off as an accident or a fluke. But then he noticed something. Bane was just staring at him in shock, blinking like he could clear the confused fog from him like sleep from his eyes. But he wasn't crying. So, Ares did what came naturally to him.

He pulled the younger man close to him, hand on the back of his neck to keep his head angled up, and rained down gentle featherlike kisses along his face. Ares kissed along the tracks of tears that were drying along the boy's cheeks until Bane's breathing returned to normal.

"Now can you tell me what happened?" Ares murmured softly, not sure what would happen if he broke the spell.

Bane just sat, completely still as his mind tried to sort through everything that had just happened. He had been crying, because of Twitchtip and everything he had done. Oh no…Twitchtip. Ares would hate him for what he had done to his girlfriend. His…girlfriend. But Ares had just kissed him, on the mouth. A boy. The mouth. But it hadn't felt bad. He didn't feel grossed out. Actually, it felt kind of…nice. It felt good. Like the first drink of the night where the alcohol sparkled through your system and heats up every part of your body. Different from people he had kissed before. Maybe it was something that only happened when one kissed boys. Maybe it was just Ares. Ares…who was looking at him expectantly and also nervously, like he might explode at any moment. Oh, he owed him an explanation.

Bane looked down at his hands twisting in his lap as he spoke, just barely louder than a whisper, shame and guilt evident in every syllable. "I…met Twitchtip outside your door. She said…that you two had," he choked up again, but managed to get past it. "Had…yeah. And I-I don't know what came over me. I was so angry, like I wanted to hit something or hurt someone, but there was no one to fight and I…I hurt her."

Dark eyes widened in shock, and Ares looked like he was about to get up, but Bane hurriedly ushered him back down. "No, I mean, not like badly. She…hurt me worse than I did her, physically," his fingers brushed the bruise forming on his face. "I did something I shouldn't have. I…kissed her, and touched and…then she hit me. I don't-I just-I'm sorry. Ares, I'm so, so sorry, you have to believe me!"

His eyes were wide, pleading and desperate. Ares shook his head and swore, rubbing his hands over his eyes. "What a mess. What a fucking mess," he growled. Then he sighed with resignation. He should go over to Twitchtip's and make sure she was okay. Who was he kidding, of course she wasn't okay.

"I'm sorry, Ares," Bane said earnestly, clutching at the man's hands. "Please, I'm so sorry."

Ares gently patted him on the head and nodded, though he wasn't quite sure how he felt about the whole situation. If it had been any one else he would have been disgusted, furious, but now he just felt tired. Not to mention the fact that he had just kissed the boy who was supposed to be his best friend, he was probably so worried about forgiveness to show how angry he was about what Ares had done.

"Why did you kiss me?" Bane asked, half curious, half hoping questions might make Ares forget about what he had done.

Here it comes, Ares thought, bracing himself. "To make you stop crying," he supplied.

"But…"

"Sorry, I know I probably shouldn't have," he said, nervously running a hand through his dark hair. It was still knotted from sleep. "That seriously crossed the line. If you hate me I…understand."

He was prepared to get up and leave, fully expecting to be dismissed from Bane's presence and his life. The boy just muttered, "I thought you'd hate me for what I did to Twitchtip…"

"No…I-I should probably be angry," Ares admitted. "But I could never really hate you."

"I've never been kissed by a boy before," at this, Bane's fingers came up to brush his lips, like there would be some kind of residue or proof of what had happened. Ares shifted uncomfortably, wondering if he could somehow flee from the conversation. He didn't know where it was headed, but was sure it wasn't somewhere he wanted to go.

"Yeah, I didn't think so," he replied shamefacedly. "I'll go now if you want."

He stood up, fully prepared to make good on his statement, but Bane reached out and clutched his shirt sleeve. The boy refused to let him budge and drew him back down to the couch. "Wait! Please? Umm, do you like me?" Bane asked, trying to put his thoughts into words that made sense. "Is that why you kissed me?"

"I already told you why," he sounded exasperated, and was fidgeting nervously.

"But, Ares…" Bane whined. He sounded no different from when he was trying to make Ares give him the last french fry or watch the movie that he had picked out.

"Yes, fine, I do!" Ares snapped, gesturing broadly, his voice rising in volume as he continued. "Are you happy now? I'm completely stupid over you and I have been for months. You're constantly on my mind and you're the most attractive person I've ever met despite being completely insane. I even love the crazy part of you, against my better judgment. Is that enough of an explanation for you?"

"Yes," he whispered. What was it Slicer had said? She couldn't get Striker out of her head, and that's how she knew that she loved him. A deep crimson blush spread across Bane's tearstained features and his next words were barely audible. "I…didn't mind that you kissed me."

"You…wait, what? Really?" Ares stuttered. All of his preconceived notions about the boy fell to the ground in pieces at that statement. That irritating part of his brain that seemed to be running an 'All Bane all the time' marathon kicked into hyper drive, demanding that he do all sorts of things to the embarrassed boy in front of them, all highly unsuitable for day time television. He leaned forward and cupped Bane's face in his hands, moving slowly, afraid to startle him, and kissed him again.

Ares closed his eyes and drowned himself in the sensation. His lips were soft and yielding, and tasted of salt from the tears. He leaned forward ever so slightly to press against the older man, hesitant and more than a little awkward. But it was Bane and this was what Ares had been dreaming of since the moment the pale white haired boy had shown up on his doorstep.

They pulled back slowly, neither one sure what to do. It was Bane who finally broke the silence, "So…now what?"

Ares leaned back against the couch, trying to forget that after all of this euphoria came the consequences of his actions. Twitchtip was probably beside herself, and it was more than a little likely that she would try and stab him when he told her what had gone on between the two men. He'd just landed in a whirlwind of trouble, and once again he'd leapt without looking to see what exactly he was jumping into.

"We go straight to hell. Do not pass go, do not collect jack shit."


	20. Thesaurus Abuse and Foreshadowing

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title: **Thesaurus Abuse and Foreshadowing

**Chapter Rating: **PG

**Disclaimer: **Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes: **Rated for er…nothing I guess.

I AM SO SORRY THIS IS SO LATE! I promise this is NOT the end of White Lies. It's not the end until everyone has been thoroughly screwed or screwed over, lol. Is college still a viable excuse for not keeping up with my own crap? I hope it is because holy shit I've been busy. Probably doesn't make anyone feel better, but still! Sorry, a thousand times. I'll do my best to update better from now on. And just maybe I'll upload the White Lies sketches I've got strewn around including some rather revealing drawings of Twirly and Ares.

Without further ado, here's the chapter!

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

For Ares the next few days passed in a blur, he moved from one moment to the next as if he was in a trance. A few of his coworkers commented on how out of it he seemed, and even made one or two zombie apocalypse jokes. He was too lost in his own world, and didn't respond to any of their jibes or concerns until one man suggested he had got in a fight with the little brunette girl he'd taken to the Christmas party. That had earned the impertinent man a glare that melted him into his shoes.

The man slung himself onto his couch, arms covering his face from what little light filtered through the windows of his purposely darkened apartment. It was Thursday afternoon, a few hours before Bane and Twitchtip would get home from school. He had fled work after lunch, claiming sickness. This was half true, he was sick to his stomach and had been since he'd left Bane's apartment and realized just the amount of hell he'd gotten himself into.

Shortly after the kiss he and Bane had shared, Ares left the apartment, unable to deal with the uncertainty and anxiousness that hung heavily in the apartment. He had knocked on Twitchtip's door, and called out to her. After a few moments he heard a loud scraping noise, realizing she had pushed something in front of the door. He heard the chain unlatch and the lock click out of place. The girl opened the door a crack to see that it was really him, her left over mascara streaked across her red face.

"Hey, Twitch," he'd said softly, hoping he wouldn't startle her, completely lost as to what he was supposed to do. The choice was taken out of his hands completely when she collapsed on him, her sobs rekindled with a vengeance. He had carried her back to her bed and tried to calm her down, letting her rant and rave and curse as much as she needed to. Eventually she quieted, and became very distant and asked him to leave so she could sleep. He'd kissed her on the forehead and wished there was something he could do to help, then gone home. It wasn't until later that he had remembered the kiss, and that somehow he would have to tell the woman who was supposed be his girlfriend that he had confessed his love to the same person who had put her in her distressed state. He just didn't know how he would be able to bring himself to do that to her.

And since that day he had been alternating between fretting about how to deal with the situation and wallowing in shame and guilt that he had caused the situation in the first place. Ares groaned, and buried his face in the couch cushions. He was tired of being in the middle of this insanity, despite the fact that it almost all seemed to be his fault. What would Twitchtip do if she found out? Would she be angry or depressed, and how could he do that after what had happened between her and Bane?

What the hell was up with him anyway? How could he go from wanting Twitchtip that badly to being okay with kissing Ares? Maybe he was just a rebound, or maybe Bane was just crazy. His actions seemed to speak volumes toward that conclusion. But that didn't stop Ares from remembering how warm those lips were, or the sparkling, almost intoxicating feeling when the boy said he liked the kiss.

The man sighed, and sat up, rubbing his eyes and wondering where exactly he stood with Bane now. Did his confession and Bane's acceptance mean he felt the same way, or was this a one time thing? If he felt the same way, would that mean they were going out? Ares felt a sudden soaring thrill of excitement at the thought that was brought crashing back down to earth with the awareness that he would have to break it off with Twitchtip first.

As he growled in frustration the phone began to ring. He lurched to the phone and answered it with a very tired sounding, "What?"

"Well, hello my bright little ray of sunshine," Nike chirped on the other side of the phone.

"You have the most uncanny timing, of anyone I've ever met," he told her. Ares really had no idea whether or not he was ready to talk to Nike about the past few days.

"Really, now?" she sounded intrigued. "What did I interrupt?"

Ares sighed, she wasn't going to leave him alone now. How sad was it that his only confidant was a seventeen year old girl, he wondered. No, he realized, the sad part was that he normally did what she suggested. "Just a complete mental breakdown."

"You have a lot of those," she observed, and he could hear her smirking into the phone.

"Let's just say I had an eventful New Year's."

"Yeah?" the girl prompted excitedly. She didn't wait for him to explain before bombarding him with questions. "How'd the albino go with that crazy looking goth girl? I asked around and found out her name was Slicer."

"Oh geez, I completely forgot about her!" Ares exclaimed. How could he have done that? What had happened between them? Had he gone to comfort Bane, kissed lips and brushed the hands that had caressed this Slicer woman only hours before. A sudden wave of nausea struck him, and he nearly missed Nike's next words.

"How could you?" Nike wondered. "You looked like you were gonna kill her when she walked out with what's his name. Anyway, I heard she's wrapped up in some bad shit, so you should look out for your little friend."

"I'm sure Bane can take care of himself," Ares said darkly.

"You on the other hand are consistently a wreck," she told him pointedly. "So, what happened this time?"

With much sighing and a few pauses to marvel at the mess he'd gotten himself into, Ares related everything that had happened since they'd last met, leaving not even the most scandalous of details out of his story. Nike let out a low whistle. "I'm impressed, how do you manage to do this to yourself?"

"What do I do, Nike?" Ares asked, a slight note of desperation in his voice.

"Simple," she replied in a tone of voice that implied a shrug, and probably a hair toss as well. "Find out if Bane likes you enough to actually go out with you, and then break it off with the brunette. Then you pay me my hourly counseling fee."

"But-" Ares tried to protest, but the girl overrode him.

"Yes, I know it's gonna be difficult and she's probably gonna cry and maybe try to knife your ass, and

she has that right. But you got yourself into this mess and you have to get yourself out of it," Nike snapped, no longer playing or joking, her tone flaying across him like a whip.

"Why do I even ask you anymore?" Ares asked, not looking forward to the hell that he knew was coming.

"Because I'm always right," she replied, her laughing sarcastic tone of voice back. "By the way, I only accept cash or shoes as payment."

-W..M..W-

Bane's fingers pressed into the cutting strings of his guitar, the calloused tips keeping him from feeling any pain. When he had first begun to play, using a cheap pawn store instrument, he had played until his fingers began to bleed, staining the neck of the guitar like he had slit its throat. Since then he'd got a new guitar, several in fact through the years. The one he was messing with now was his acoustic, the one he treated like it was his first born, but as he growled and cussed at it he wished he could wring its neck.

Finally he set it aside and stood up, casting it one last glance full of betrayal. The guitar merely sat there, contentedly against the cushions, benign and innocent. Bane stretched his arms over his head as he stalked into the kitchen. He really couldn't blame the guitar for his inability to produce the right sounds on it. He heard the music in his head but when he tried to play it, the notes came out irate and discordant. Maybe it would be easier if he could actually read music and knew which notes he was supposed to be playing.

He wondered what Ares, who had gone to college specifically for music, would think if he knew the extent of Bane's traditional musical knowledge had been learned in fifth grade. It consisted only of a few clever acronyms to remember the notes on a treble clef scale. As his thoughts drifted to his dark haired neighbor Bane realized he had found the root of his musical trials. Nothing had really been working properly in his head since the day after New Year's.

He had been going through his days on autopilot trying not to show everyone just how dazed he was, or how happy he had been, lest they start to question him about it and he'd been avoiding actually thinking about what had happened or the consequences lest he ruin it with his questioning. But Ares hadn't come over since that day and they only saw each other in the mornings, before going to their separate daytime prisons, sharing a small wave and a slight flush to accompany quickly downcast eyes.

The boy rummaged through his fridge, trying to find something to eat and distract himself from the musical frustrations and the doubts about Ares. He paced through his small apartment, going from the kitchen, through the living room, into his room and looping around to do it again, all the while absently munching on leftovers. Bane had long ago pushed Twitchtip out of his mind. She still existed, of course, and he tried to hang out with her at school, but to avoid the guilt from assaulting her he had subconsciously buried the memory. His biggest worry about her was that she was currently Ares's girlfriend. Was it okay for them to kiss if Ares had a girlfriend? Bane had never been bothered by it, but the girls he had 'dated' always got rather angry when he did such things.

Bane stopped in the middle of the living room, staring thoughtfully at his wall of CDs like he was trying to pick one, but not really seeing them. Kissing Ares. Why was he okay with that? Was that a good thing to do? It certainly felt nice, but why? They had been just friends up to that point and Bane couldn't recall ever being attracted to a man before, though to be fair, Ares _was_ pretty feminine. He never had understood the idea of liking people, or loving them, it was such an abstract concept and yet it was something that he craved and went after.

There was always this feeling of 'what now?' that Bane couldn't find the answer to. Would Ares break up with Twitchtip and date him? Was that what he wanted? How strange for him to feel like he wanted to see Ares again, listen to him talk, and have those hands gently touch his face again.

"He said he loved me," Bane murmured, barely loud enough for himself to hear, lips forming the words with a reverence that stirred himself deep inside. That was his answer, he knew. He would be happy with Ares, guy or not, because Ares said he loved him.

Girls, Bane had found, didn't say that very often to him. When they did it was quickly proven to be false, it was just a series of words that they didn't put much thought into. Eventually he had given up hoping for to hear it, stopped believing it when it was said, and didn't even think it existed. But Ares's words had kindled a deep down desperate hope within Bane.

-W..M..W-

"Miss Twitchtip, do you think you could grace me with your attention?" The teacher snapped irritably, rapping her dry erase marker against the white board. Twitchtip brought her tired gaze level with that of her AP Calculus teacher. The woman returned to her lecture and Twitchtip returned to her thoughts, eyes glazing over as she withdrew within herself. She pulled her jacket in close around her shoulders like it was her own personal armor, a shell to keep the outside world from getting to her.

The first night after Ares had left her to rest Twitchtip had been a wreck. She was angry and sad and couldn't control herself and wouldn't stop shaking. Then she had become numb to it all, unthinking, unfeeling, with no drive but the next thing on her schedule. She drug herself out of bed to go to school, got home to choke down a few bites of food, sometimes she would do her homework before she finally passed out asleep.

Small normal things were difficult for her now. She had to will herself to eat, hadn't done laundry, and her normally tidy kitchen was strewn with refuse. Idly she wondered if she had taken her medication that morning or not. Remembering to do so was one of the things she was having trouble with. Funnily enough, her school work had yet to suffer. She was grateful for the distractions that homework provided. The idea that she had to keep going for fear of failure kept her from falling apart completely. Twitchtip was even grateful that Ares had been keeping his distance, no matter how strange that would seem to her had she stopped to think about it.

Seeing him, feeling his pitying gaze upon her, would just make her have to face the facts. She would either have to pretend to feel better or actually drag herself up from the depths that she was wallowing in, and she was prepared to do neither.

Logically she knew that what she was doing was unhealthy, and that she needed to deal with her problems, but her entire world had been turned upside down and shaken like a child's snow globe and he didn't have the strength to right it. Maybe Ares could help her do so, but in all honesty she didn't want to put forth the effort and was fine letting their ties loosen and finally fall apart if it meant she could pull the covers over her head and pretend nothing mattered.

Someone who was in even stronger denial than she was, believe it or not, was Bane. He had attempted to sit with her during lunch, talk to her between classes, and left notes in her locker asking whether she was okay. Was she sick? Was she upset with him? What had happened? Was it a fight between her and Ares?

These things infuriated her, the only emotion she could truly bring herself to feel in her thick smog of detachment. She would coldly turn from him when he tried to greet her in his normal energetic way, and scowled when he nonchalantly sidled up to her at the bus stop. Eventually she'd started taking a later bus to ignore these annoying occurrences. What was wrong with him? How could he be so twisted in the head that he could sexually assault someone and then a few days later pout with genuine unhappiness when he was ignored or rebuffed?

Other than the times he was failing to talk with Twitchtip the pale boy seemed genuinely happy, a far cry from his mood during the holidays. He was talking with his old acquaintances, and the music coming from his room involved much less hatred and screaming and puppy sacrifice. The girl wasn't trying to check up on him, he just seemed to constantly be around her, in her line of vision.

She may have briefly wondered at the cause for this new zest for life that he displayed. But then, she probably hadn't. Maybe the cause had to do with her, or maybe something unrelated, she was ambivalent to it all. Ares was deliberately avoiding her, but that didn't bother her either.

Her symptoms were coming back, but she didn't much care.

-W..M..W-

AN: Sorry about the length and overall nothingness of this chapter. Anyway, as you guys probably know next chapter is a Filler, and it's going to be rather…fluffy to balance out the angst. BUT there is an open slot that I don't have planned so if you have an OTP that you want me to include SPEAK NOW. Or just a character you want me to focus on, and I will as long as it doesn't screw with the canon.


	21. Super Happy Filler Time Go! No 5

White Lies

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

Title: Super Happy Filler Time GO! (No. 4: Uber Fluff Edition)

Chapter Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

Summary: He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

Author's Notes: Rated for (homo)sexual reference, lots of swearing, and scenes so sweet you'll get diabetes. Hurray for time warp chapters! Next chapter is about a month or so after New Year's, and this is what our lufflies have been up to between that.

I know this is a weird time to update, but I did it today for a reason. It's National Coming Out Day! Whoo, bring on the rainbow streamers and glitter! So. Much. Glitter.  
Anyway, the boys are coming out today and so should you! (even if you're het. Just go up to people and say 'I like the opposite sex' except don't.) And so am I, in case no one got this yet, I'm bisexual. Have a good week! Ja ne!

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

Ares was occupied with uploading all of his music onto the new laptop he'd squandered his most recent check on when Bane burst into his room. The boy seemed incredibly excited about something, and he grabbed Ares by the shoulders and pulled him up out of the chair.

The dark haired man was stunned by the sudden intrusion. He hadn't been alone with Bane for the past few days but now that he was standing in front of him Ares was achingly aware of the boy. His hands on his shoulders, pressing into his skin, the nearness of his body and the movement of his lips. He was saying something and Ares had to fight down his urge to ravish the boy and concentrate on his words.

He missed most of it but caught something about "just opened-two miles…best…be back," then as quickly as he came, Bane left, abandoning a confused Ares in his wake. It suddenly occurred to Ares that he had no idea how Bane had gotten in his apartment in the first place when he swore he'd locked the door.

The dark haired man had almost forgotten the strange incident when his door slammed open again. He turned and was only mildly surprised to see Bane in his doorway looking slightly winded and clutching a bag from a popular fast food chain like it contained the Holy Grail.

"You've been gone a while," Ares observed, trying to conceal his disappointment.

"I _told_ you it was two miles away," Bane explained with an exasperated gesture.

"Where did you go again?" Ares questioned as he went to join his friend who settled himself on the couch like it was his own. The pale boy rustled the bag as his answer and emptied the contents on his carefully crafted napkin plate. Ares watched in shock as a vast amount of spiral French fries tumbled out.

"These are the best things in the world," Bane purred with satisfaction as he picked on up reverently. "They taste awesome, they're cheap, they—"

"They're orange," the man observed, chuckling quietly. Ares was surprised how easily they settled back into their old familiar banter, but wasn't sure whether it was a good thing or a bad thing? Had Bane blocked out the kiss like he'd blocked out the assault on Twitchtip? Or did this mean he accepted Ares's feelings?

"No they aren't!" Bane protested vehemently.

Ares took the fry from his friend and made a show of examining it closely. "Just what color would you call this then?"

"_French fry colored_," he said adamantly, trying to snatch the fry back while Ares held it at arm's length. "Orange is gross and these are great so they can't be orange."

"I don't think that's how logic works, Bane," the man told him, waving the morsel tauntingly above his head. Bane, not to be outdone, clambered onto Ares's lap in pursuit of his food. "Anyway, since they're orange and you don't eat food that color, you won't be needing these. Guess I'll just eat them all."

Bane made a noise of protest as he strained to reclaim his precious fry. True, he probably could have eaten the ones on the table, but he didn't want Ares to have this one. It didn't have anything to do with the fact that his squirming around on the older man's lap elicited a blush like no other. As Bane made demanding grabby fingers at the fry, Ares managed to swing his hand under the flailing arms and popped the fry in his mouth. After all the hype Bane had given it he was severely disappointed.

He didn't remain so for long, because as Bane sat and stared at him, the boy realized that at this point Ares had won. Ares had won and he had lost because he couldn't get the fry now…or could he? He didn't think very much about it, because he probably would've backed out if he had. With a determined look the boy swooped down and kissed the shocked man. His tongue pried apart the closed lips and assaulted his mouth, seeming to forget what he had gone in there for as the passion overwhelmed him.

Ares felt like he had gone up in flames. His face was red and his breath was short, and he couldn't differentiate the beats of his heart it was drumming so quickly against his rib cage. He wasn't sure exactly how it had happened, how they had made the switch from fighting over a piece of fast food to a kiss like this, but he was certainly going to take advantage of it. He responded to the aggressive kiss with fervor, twining his tongue around the boy's and pulling him in close.

Then, as abruptly as it had started it was over and Bane was pulling back, breathing hard and staring at him like he wasn't sure what to make of the man. Inwardly Ares cursed at himself, thinking he'd finally gone too far and scared the poor confused Bane.

"Wow," was all he said, ruby colored eyes examining the smallest features of his partner. "You're pretty good."

Ares blushed, "So, what was that about?"

"You like me, right?" Bane asked, with the slightest of satisfied smirks.

"Of course!"

"That's what it was about," he replied simply, sliding off the lap and returning to his food.

-W..M..W-

When Twitchtip opened the door she was as surprised as her lethargic condition allowed her to be. Ares stood, looking anxious and guilty, on the other side. The woman wasn't sure how to respond to the unexpected visit. He was supposed to be her boyfriend after all but since they'd slept together and the…incident, she had barely seen him.

Ares flushed and shifted uncomfortably, "Hey, Twitch."

"Ares," she acknowledged, blocking the door with her body when he looked like he wanted to come in.

"I haven't seen you around in a while," he offered up hesitantly. "Are you alright?"

Twitchtip nearly laughed. Of course she was alright, never been better. She had been missing her medication almost daily, and her symptoms were coming back with a vengeance. Even as she stared at Ares, he seemed distinctly out of focus, while other things stood out with vivid clarity. Her eyes flickered down the hall toward the movement she had seen. Ares followed her gaze but saw nothing, and when he turned back he was disturbed by the strange look he saw on Twitchtip's face. She rubbed her eyes and brushed her hair away from her face. "You haven't exactly been trying to see me."

"I know," Ares said, apologetically, assuming the girl was perhaps tired or just a little out of it. He had come here for a reason, as unpleasant as it was. He and Bane had confessed to each other and kissed a few times now and it was officially time to tell Twitchtip. He shouldn't have gone as far as he had when he'd promised himself to someone else. Being betrayed was painful, he was well aware of that fact, and he was worried about what would happen when he finally revealed it. "And I'm sorry for that. I know it was wrong to avoid you after everything that happened."

"It was," she agreed. Twitchtip glanced over her shoulder and then back to Ares, trying to shake the feeling that someone was standing right behind her. Perhaps a few weeks ago she might have gotten angry or upset, but she had already come to terms with the fact that their relationship was over and it didn't bother her nearly as much as it should have.

"I don't really know how to say this," the dark haired man started. He'd been broken up with enough times that he should know exactly how to say what was coming, but he couldn't recall a single line that hadn't left him feeling like curling up into a ball and dying.

"I know we're not together anymore," Twitchtip said, knowing that if she left it up to the indecisive man they would be there all day. "I don't know why, but I've pretty much made the assumption already."

"I'm sorry, Twitch," Ares said earnestly, trying to get through the shell he could see built up around her. "But well…that's not really why I came here. There's something else…"

"Well?" an eyebrow twitched impatiently as she watched Ares gather his courage and take a deep breath.

"As of a few days ago, Bane and I are kind of a thing," he blurted out, half closing his eyes and bracing himself like he was expecting her to punch him or worse. She just stood there, seemingly struck dumb by this revelation. Twitchtip brushed a hand across her eyes, trying to clear her mind that refused to work through the haze of colors and smells and tastes assaulting her. Maybe she should be more diligent about taking her medication because she could've sworn she'd just heard Ares tell her that-

"You and Bane are dating?" The disbelief was evident in her voice. Ares just nodded and she crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway. "Guess being gay would explain…not much actually."

"I'm _not_ gay," Ares snapped, hearing Nike echoed in the phrasing. "I dated you didn't I?"

"Then what exactly do I call my ex who left me for a man?" the sarcasm was dripping off her words. "Oh and his new boyfriend."

He scowled, "I don't like being called anything other than my name, but I guess you could call me bisexual. And Bane, well I don't know. You'd have to ask him. I think he's pretty indiscriminate, really."

"Great," Twitchtip said tightly, finally letting the entire situation sink in without trying to maintain her emotionless mask. "That's just great for you guys then. You are one classy mother fucker, Ares. I hope you know that."

With that she slammed the door closed, leaving the dark haired man alone in the hallway wishing that she had hit him instead.

-W..M..W-

"I love horror movies…" Bane sighed happily and relaxed into Ares's arms. The dark haired young man chuckled quietly.

"You're a psychopath," he murmured affectionately, stroking the white strands of hair. It was a week after the curly fry incident had occurred, and they had been spending more and more time together. They had gotten over their confusion and embarrassment about discussing their relationship and decided that yes, they did like each other, and they were going to try being together. Since then not much had changed from their first few months of friendship except that Bane came over a little more often and was much more physically affectionate.

"I probably am," the other agreed, twisting around so that he could look Ares in the face. "But I'm an amazing psychopath."

Ares laughed again, and, struck by a spontaneous wave of affection for the boy, kissed him. Unlike the first few times Bane wasn't stunned into immobility, and when their lips pressed together he responded with surprising enthusiasm, leaning forward into the kiss and slipping his tongue between their lips.

Ares took this as a sign of permission and kissed back fiercely, surprised by how aggressive Bane was, actually pushing him back on the couch, hand tangled in his black hair. His hands cupped the back of his neck and pressed against the small of his back, pulling him closer.

"Woah!" Bane cried, jerking back suddenly, eyes wild, e retreated to the other side of the couch.

Ares sat up, worried, "What's wrong? What'd I do?"

"So that's what one of those feels like to a girl," he seemed shocked as if something had electrocuted him. He drew his knees up against his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs in a guarded way.

"Bane, babe, are you alright?" Ares pressed, lust fogged mind clearing in favor of true concern. He leaned forward, closing the distance between them, and brushed the flustered boy's cheek with gentle fingertips.

"Wha? Oh…um, yeah, I'm okay," he looked up at the concerned dark eyes.

"What happened?" Ares prodded.

"Well," Bane said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking awkward. "I kind of forgot you were a guy."

"What do you mean?" he asked, puzzled, not sure if he was being insulted or not.

Red eyes avoided looking at the other and a deep flush spread across his face, "Well, your um-yeah- it kind of poked me. And I wasn't expecting it 'cuz I was sort of imagining you were a girl."

"You did what? Bane, have you been doing that the whole time?" Ares flared. He thought Bane had reconciled the fact that he was a guy, but if he had to rely on imagination like this then there was no way this could work.

"Look, it's not that bad, I just needed to get used to kissing you so I won't be so awkward. This is the only time I did it, and I won't do it again. I'm fine with kissing you now. Just…"

"Just?" Ares prodded, tone of voice telling him he was on thin ice.

"Just don't poke me again, I'm not ready for that yet." Now it was Ares's turn to blush, just now realizing what he was referring to.

-W..M..W-

"Bane, get take that out," Ares demanded, gesturing to the jumbo package of snack cakes that the boy had just stealthily slipped into the grocery cart.

"Aww, but Ares," he whined, making a big show of putting it back on the shelf and then despondently shuffling behind the dark haired man as he continued down the aisle.

"No buts, we both have limited income, and that's a waste," he told the boy, trying to be firm. It was difficult though, because of how ridiculous the tall muscular boy decked out in a collar and pants with chains on them looked pouting like a small child. They had both discovered a complete lack of food in their apartments earlier that day and Ares had, against his better judgment, acquiesced to go shopping with his boyfriend and teach him how to buy things that weren't junk. Oh, wow, he definitely just thought boyfriend. Things were getting very real very fast.

"Hey," Bane whispered into the man's ear, lips grazing it and making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "Why are people staring at us?"

Ares turned to stare at Bane in disbelief. The white haired boy tilted his head to the side like a confused puppy. "Really, you're really going to ask me that?"

"Yes," he replied earnestly.

The dark man shook his head and sighed, "I dunno, Bane. Couldn't be the fact that we're both gothed out on a Sunday at two in the afternoon, or that you're six foot five and acting like a toddler. So most likely it's that we're two guys shopping together."

Bane chuckled and ruffled Ares's hair affectionately. "Those are silly reasons, and I'm six foot eight inches."

Ares muttered something about overcompensating and received a friendly punch in the shoulder that made his whole arm go numb. He watched Bane stride on down the aisle examining the selection of cookies offered and sending pitiful glances back at the man he was certain would deny any requests for chocolaty goodness. Ares smiled as he watched him but there was still something nagging at the back of his mind, something that shouldn't bother him but still did.

"What's wrong?" Like always, the red eyes seemed to see straight through Ares's defenses and body to see his soul beneath.

"Um, well…" he glanced away but Bane's fingers cupped his chin and turned his face back. "I was just thinking about something stupid. You know that girl?"

Bane gave him a blank look. He knew lots of girls, most of which he wasn't on the best terms with. Ares flushed a little bit. "The girl from the New Year's party, Slicer."

"Yes," he replied, wondering what all this was about, and also wondering how he'd found out her name because he'd never mentioned it before. Ares lowered his eyes to the floor since he couldn't look away with the gentle hand holding his face.

"Did you ever…sleep with her?" The dark haired man bit his lip, afraid of the response.

Bane cast his thoughts back to that night, although it was around a period he had blocked out of his mind. He definitely remembered the intention of sleeping with his old friend, and had been disappointed when she'd denied him. At the time he had been preoccupied with the tension between him and his neighbors, but he had still been well aware of the warmth of her body against his. She was all smooth skin and teeth and soft curves, and he'd wanted to see her spread beneath him. Dark hair splayed across the sheets, eyes glossy and anxious, flushed and needy and—whoa. Calm down, Bane commanded himself as he realized his thoughts had gone much too far. Far enough in fact to give him a physical reaction.

He stepped up onto the bottom shelf of the shopping cart and leaned over it to look at Ares, surreptitiously pressing the front of his legs and hips into the metal. Suddenly he was very serious, speaking in low measured tones. "Why are you concerned about Slicer? It's not like I've ever been secretive about the amount of women I've been with. Or how frequently. Of all the things to worry about, why her?"

"It's stupid, I told you," Ares retorted, trying to end the conversation, but when he pushed the cart the occupant refused to move.

"I didn't, you know. She's an old friend, and she had another commitment," he smiled reassuringly, but also couldn't help laughing a bit. "Of all the times to worry about my sex life, Ares…"

"Well she flaunted her closeness with you, and it bothered me. Plus she just didn't seem like the kind of person you needed," the dark haired man snapped. "And I never saw any of the other girls. It doesn't mean I'm happy about it, you know."

"And now I'm with you, and they don't matter," Bane said simply, dismissing everything else.

"That's lovely," growled a flustered Ares, who was trying to hide just how much that had meant to him. He pushed against the cart and the added weight of his boyfriend perched on the end of it. "Now get off."

"Nope."

"I'm not going to push if you don't move."

"I've got aaaaall day to stand here staring at your pretty face," he sing-songed, making the other man blush hotly.

"You're an ass," he retorted, pushing the cart forward and trying to impale the mocking boy on a center aisle display.

"Hey, Ares."

"What?"

"I'll get off the cart if you let me get the noms."

"Just get the damn snack cakes," Ares shouted, causing people three aisles over to jump and curiously look around for the cause of the outburst. Flashing his disgruntled friend a toothy grin, Bane leapt off the end of the cart, jarring it out of Ares's hands. As he swore, the pale boy retrieved the abandoned cakes from the shelf Ares had put them on.

He pet them comfortingly and cast an affectionate glance back at his furious boyfriend. It made him a lot happier than he would say that Ares had been worried for him and jealous of Slicer. In his odd way the frustration Ares displayed just meant he cared, they weren't as cute or nice as he and Twitchtip had been but Bane never doubted Ares's feelings once. He had a sudden vision of a certain someone's shaggy dark hair spread across his sheets, and the hungry eyes looking up at him were definitely not Slicer's emerald green ones.

"I'm gonna tap that," he confided to the box as he returned to Ares's side.

"What did you say?" the man asked, expecting another taunt.

"Nothing," Bane replied innocently as he deposited the box in the cart and gestured that they could continue shopping. Ares just rolled his eyes, thoughts on more mundane things like grocery lists and food groups, while his partner wondered if three weeks after a first kiss was too soon for a normal relationship.

Never know until you try, he figured.


	22. Blatant Fanservice

**White Lies**

_By: Ariadne_

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

**Title:** Blatant Fanservice

**Chapter Rating:** PG-15 (again)

**Disclaimer:** Plot mine. Characters are Ms. Collins's. Don't sue me.

**Summary:** He never knew what he was getting into. He never expected that such a small thing could affect his life so drastically.

**Author's Notes:** Rated for (homo)sexual reference, some cussing, drug use, and Bane being a sexy bastard.

For a change of pace, I won't be begging forgiveness for how long it's taken to get this chapter up. Instead I'll just give you guys a present! Go to my deviantart account (t3h-b4n3) and see some lovely sketches of Ares and Twirltongue in all their sexxeh glory.

Happy Unspecified Winter Holiday! Have some yaoi!

-W..M..W..M..W..M..W..M..W-

This was a waste of time, Twirltongue was sure of it. So she sat in the chair, arms and legs crossed, gaze leveled on her so called boss. Her face was as emotionless as she could make it but her foot shook impatiently and her green eyes glittered in a way that could be called dangerous. Her fingers tapped a rhythm on her upper arm as she waited for Gorger to get on with it.

"I have noticed your behavior recently is a bit off," he began, attempting to be diplomatic and stern at the same time. His own eyes were hard and expressionless as steel and just as cold. Twirltongue had been valuable asset to the company and had been fulfilling in many other ways. Her tendency to lord her power over him and sexually harass the other male workers was overlooked by her efficiency and cutthroat ambition. Gorger had always figured he would have to rein her in eventually and remind her just who was in charge but it hadn't hurt to allow her a few freedoms and concessions in exchange for her 'after hours' work.

"I am not the only one, either," he informed her when she refused to comment. The woman shrugged slightly, lips pressed in a thin line to express her displeasure. "Those who work under you have said that you've been erratic and quick to anger. You have been coming to work late and leaving earlier than you should, and some of your recent reports are losing coherency."

Twirltongue scowled and finally came to her own defense. "They're just trying to foist their own mistakes onto me, and make me look bad."

"Gorger, you know that I've always done what was best for this company, and I've made you more money than any of those lying mongrels you've got working in my office," she leaned forward over his desk ostensibly to get closer to him but also flashing a lot of cleavage. Her speech was impassioned but rushed and almost shaky. "I don't know who's coming to you with this shit but it's all false."

"Calm down," he told her, and she sank back into her seat, foot back to its restless shaking. "Are you sure everything is fine with you, Twirltongue?"

There was actually the slightest note of concern in his voice, which made Twirltongue sneer. How weak. She had admired him for his calculating ruthlessness, and now he was becoming soft on her. But then all men were like that she had noticed, and so she played her trump card, knowing it would get him off her back.

"I'm fine," she told him with a purr. "And what about yourself? How is your wife doing?"

The subtle threat was evident to Gorger who had dealt with this before. She was reminding him that she could always go to his wife and inform them of their extramarital affair. The conniving bitch probably had security tapes or witnesses to every act he thought with a scowl. Any amount of worry for the woman was stripped from him. She was after all a heartless woman who never saw beyond her own selfish desires.

"If that's how you're going to be, then leave," he demanded in a rough voice. The woman got to her feet and strode to the door, knowing full well that his eyes were roving up and down her voluptuous body. simple creatures. He had called off their extracurricular activities some time ago out of some kind of guilt or something, but she knew he missed it. Not that it mattered to her. "But, Twirltongue, if you become a hindrance to my business in any way, I will have to take some kind of action."

She tossed her head proudly, without lowering herself to answer him and stalked from the office. If he hadn't lowered his head in disgust he would have noticed how shaky she was on her trademark stilettos.

-W..M..W-

When Ares stepped into work that morning, at about the same time that Twirltongue was in her meeting with Gorger, half the staff wondered if it was really him. There was a spring in his step and a glow about him that was suspiciously unlike the normally taciturn serious Ares that everyone was used to. They had grown accustomed to his bouts of quiet crippling despair, but this emotion that could only be described as happiness was an absolute shock.

Gossip flickered around the office at the speed of light, or at least the speed of instant message as the other office slaves on his floor tried to figure out the cause of this new cheerful Ares. The theories receiving the most support were the cyborg replacement theory and the 'he got seriously laid' theory.

The whole thing just made Ares chuckle to himself. Laid? No, not exactly. True, he and Bane had been getting a little more serious now that the pale boy didn't run into a different room at the mere thought of male genitalia. But really the reason was just that he was happy with what was going on. He had definitely made mistakes on the way, and he still intended to fix them or at least try to, but he had a boyfriend he was crazy about and a job that he didn't loathe and things were finally looking up.

Perfectly manicured nails ran down the back of his neck, drawing his attention to the leggy head of human resources standing behind him. He couldn't help thinking that this was some kind of cosmic joke.

"At least it's not raining," he muttered quietly, but when a storm failed to materialize he turned to the blonde woman.

"What was that, love?" she purred, lowering herself so she could speak breathily into the man's ear in the way she knew drove people crazy. It had been a while since she'd harassed the poor man, and Twirltongue felt like she needed a distraction from her anger now. Stupid Gorger, stupid plotting against her. But not her Ares, all he had to do was sit there and look pretty. She was still determined to bend him to her will. "Aren't we happy today? What happened, did you finally dump that little high school girl?"

Ares brushed off the hand that had been caressing his shoulders and turned in his chair to regard the woman. He was stunned by what he saw. True, he had been avoiding her and also caught up in his own misery the past few weeks, but he felt like she had changed years since the last time he'd gotten a good look at her.

A brief glance showed the Twirltongue he was used to, confident to the point of arrogance, perfect in every way from her flawless updo to the shine on her patent leather pumps. She still had that flirty smirk, and a sexy tilt in her hips, but a closer look showed that something was off. Her green eyes still glimmered but it was a feverish light, and the area around them was a red that makeup couldn't cover. The fingers that had been caressing his neck were just as meticulously manicured but she couldn't hide their shaking. The perfectly tailored clothes that she wore to flaunt her curvy figure hung differently than before, and Ares guessed she'd lost at least fifteen pounds.

"Cat got your tongue?" she questioned, looking displeased at his lack of reaction and the strange examining way he was staring at her. Ares flushed, realizing what he had been doing and muttered a greeting though he felt it was too late. "That's okay, you're pretty you don't have to be smart."

She laughed, but even that seemed off to Ares, who heard a hollow note sound behind the bells he was used to. Maybe he was disillusioned, and she had lost her beauty because he was truly interested in someone else. But he recalled that even when he knew what a terrible person she was, the raw sexual power she exuded had still enticed him. He could still see the vestiges of it, still feel it pulling at him as she twirled his hair between her fingers and murmured in that low seductive way she had.

"Sorry, Twirltongue," he said, cutting her off and once again grasping her hand and pushing it away. He smiled at her gently and sat back in his chair. "I don't think I'll be too fun to mess with today."

"Obviously not," the woman pouted, looking disappointed in him for failing to provide her sport. The man looked untouchable, unresponsive to the techniques that normally got him stuttering, stumbling and blushing to hell and back. She wondered what had changed for him to look at her unfalteringly, that obnoxious quiet little smile on his face like nothing was wrong in his world. It infuriated her, and if he wasn't going to play the game with her then she was done with him. "If you change your mind," she purred, stroking his face. "You know where to find me."

With that she left, and Ares sighed a little then turned back to his desk. He idly tapped at his keyboard and clicked a bit with his mouse, but in reality he was getting very little work done. The best way to put Twirltongue's strange behavior out of his mind was to remember the boy that he knew was waiting for him when he came home.

His new lifted mood made work more enjoyable, but he was that much more impatient for it to be over now that he had something to look forward to. The past week or so Bane had been much more affectionate, in his strange aggressive way, and Ares idly wondered whether things would progress to—no it was much too soon. Bane was still getting used to everything, and Ares knew he shouldn't push the boy, no matter how exciting the prospect.

He flushed rapidly at the idea of making love to his boyfriend. Frantically he ran his hands through his dark hair as though he could just brush the thoughts and images out of his mind. He opened a new window on his computer. Work. Work was what he needed now to calm him down. Maybe if he absorbed himself fully the time would go faster, and maybe those lust filled ruby colored eyes would quit taunting him.

This worked for a while until he hit an unexpected snag. "Shit," he muttered, standing up to go and retrieve a new bundle of paper for his printer. He wandered over to the supply closet, wondering if promotions were inversely proportional to the amount of obnoxious paperwork you had to do.

Just as he was about to open the door he heard a sharp inhale. Probably someone with a cold, he shrugged. Hoping they weren't sneezing on everything or something like that, the man opened the door a crack only to find Twirltongue in the closet. She was rubbing her nose and her eyes were watering, with the other hand she stashed a pocket mirror and a rolled up bill in one of her jacket pockets. Ares quickly pieced together the scene and her strange behavior, he wasn't sheltered by any means, and now that he realized exactly what was going on he was surprised he hadn't noticed before.

"What are you staring at?" the woman snarled at him, and he realized he'd opened the door and just stood there.

"Nothing," he answered dumbly, taking a few steps in and turning his back to her in a show of being very interested in the different paper options on the shelf. He expected her to harass him more, but she just laughed and he flinched at how off key it sounded. The man was so distraught he didn't even protest when she groped at him before leaving the closet.

"Why me?" Ares muttered.

-W..M..W-

When Ares reached his apartment he was so distracted by his conflicting emotions and ideas that he didn't even notice that his door was unlocked. He strode into his apartment like usual and headed straight to the kitchen to pour a glass of water. As he drank he realized that his radio was playing a CD that he didn't own and he threw the cup in the sink and ran into his living room to find Bane sitting comfortably on his couch.

The boy had brought his own game console from his room and attached it to Ares's television. The sounds of zombies dying blended with the harsh music in the air to create a kind of bizarre cacophony surrounding the pale young man. He seemed perfectly at home on Ares's couch, and, Ares noticed with a flutter of his stomach, he was clad only in loose cargo pants. Apparently he had deemed a shirt unnecessary.

"Welcome home," he called out, feeling Ares's gaze on him, too busy reducing the undead to masses of flesh and gore to turn around.

"How did you get in my apartment?" Ares asked, trying to keep his mind on track despite the alluring sight.

"Picked the locks," Bane responded. He quickly finished off the level he was on and paused the game so he could turn and grab Ares's wrist and pull him onto the couch next to him.

"You…broke into my apartment?" The dark haired man sounded shocked more than angry. He wanted to look stern about the obvious breach of his privacy.

Bane just shrugged and stretched, exhibiting his muscular smooth body to its fullest extent and Ares resisted the urge to drool. "I don't see what the problem is, really. I just wanted to see you when you came home. I've done it before."

A glimmer of realization sparked in Ares's mind. So that was what happened the day Bane had burst unexpectedly into his apartment. He hadn't forgotten to lock the door; the door was unlocked by the smug delinquent sitting next to him. Ares scowled, wondering just how often his neighbor had invited himself into his apartment when he was gone. And where had he learned this skill? It struck Ares again how little he knew about his boyfriend's past but he didn't have long to reflect upon it.

The half-naked boy straddled Ares with a boldness that startled him, determination and desire writ in the ruby colored eyes. Bane stopped any protests that the older man might have when he kissed him. At first it was slow and as chaste as it could be with someone as passionate as Bane but soon they were locked in an intense embrace, tongues twining together, panting desperately, and quietly moaning. Bane's hands went to work on Ares's button up shirt, seeing it as an obstacle to his goal. His fingers were fumbling and eager as they dragged along his partner's chest.

Ares let out a quiet gasp when he felt teeth along his neck, the slight pain contrasting oddly with the caresses along his chest and stomach. Unbidden he recalled that Twirltongue was just as aggressive and feral, biting along the same spots that Bane was ravaging now. He briefly wondered if one had gotten it from the other, but the thoughts were banished from his mind as he felt Bane's fingers moving toward the waistband of his jeans.

Gathering his will power he pulled away, grabbing Bane's wrists. His mind clearing slightly from the lusty fog, he took stock of the situation. They were both shirtless, and the button of his pants was half undone. He could see the marks of his hands on Bane and was sure he looked much worse for the wear. Hiding the bruises and bite marks along his neck was going to be a chore in the morning.

"What's going on?" Ares asked quietly. Bane shrugged back at him, obviously exerting a lot of self-control.

"Nothing yet," he answered offhandedly. Then he leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Ares's neck again. Staring into those endless red eyes Ares could see volumes of intention and suddenly knew where this was going. Before he had time to react to this revelation Bane was kissing him again, and it was all he could do to keep his breath. Suddenly he stopped and stood up and regarded Ares briefly.

"What are-" The dark haired man didn't have time to catch his breath let alone question his boyfriend's motives. Bane bent down and scooped the older man up, throwing him over his shoulder. "Wait! Bane!"

Ignoring the protests and slight flailing, Bane carried his burden into the bedroom. Ares fell to the bed with a soft thump and looked up at the man who was bending over him with a predatory smirk. The dark haired man was stunned by the change he saw in his normally odd but immature neighbor. He'd known about Bane's sexual exploits but never really connected them with the awkward, sweet boy that he knew. The Bane looking down at him was confident and obviously knew what he wanted from the situation, he even looked older.

"Say yes or no," Bane murmured in his ear as he bent over the older man. His hands explored the other's body, stroking and caressing every muscle, every dip and curve of the smooth mocha colored skin. Ares shivered and bit his lip, not sure what to say or how to react.

"Do you even know what you're-"

Once again, he wasn't allowed to finish his sentence. A finger on his lips silenced him and Bane's smirk softened to a gentle smile. "Just give me an answer, Ares. We can worry about the why, what and how later on."

The long fingers twined in Ares's mussed black hair, playfully twirling the strands before pulling slightly and eliciting a gasp from his partner. "You don't have to worry about my feelings, I'm not Twitchtip." The boy bent to continue biting and kissing along Ares's collar bones.

"No, definitely nothing like her," he observed, staring at Bane who was managing to smirk up at him with his skin in his teeth. Ares blushed, and wondered how he still had enough blood in his face to do that.

"Then there's not a problem," Bane said, climbing onto the bed to straddle Ares once more. He pinned the older man's wrists to the bed and flashed his sharp white teeth down at him, admiring the view. Ares began to wonder if he was in way over his head, but didn't have much time to think as his boyfriend made his mind up for him.


End file.
